Posted on 11/11/2025 5:32:54 PM PST by PGR88
Taiwan’s military is facing a worsening manpower crisis as the numbers volunteering to serve continue to shrink.
According to a recent report by the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Centre, the overall personnel fill rate – the ratio between authorised and actual troop numbers – fell from 88.6 per cent in 2020 to 78.6 per cent in 2024. By June this had dropped further to 75.6 per cent, the lowest in recent years. Although defence spending was set to hit a new high next year, allowing the armed forces to buy more weapons, “advanced weaponry can only deliver expected effectiveness when operated by well-trained personnel”.
The report noted: “The voluntary force’s fill rate has kept falling, and many frontline units receiving combat-duty pay still remain below 80 per cent staffing.”
In August, the island’s cabinet approved a record total NT$949.5 billion (US$29.2 billion) defence budget for 2026 – equivalent to 3.3 per cent of GDP – in response to Beijing’s growing military threat. Volunteer personnel are considered the backbone of Taiwan’s combat power, as they spend more time in the military than conscripts, who must serve for a year.
Chieh Chung, a researcher at the Association of Strategic Foresight in Taipei, said the military’s 2026 budget had revealed three alarming signs.
These included the loss of 6,784 volunteers across all ranks; a surge in early retirements among officers, particularly in the air force; and a continued rise in mid-career pilots refusing to extend their service, he said.
The 2026 budget projected a total number of 153,965 volunteer officers and soldiers – 6,784 fewer than this year and down 12,770 on the 2024 total. The steepest fall was among volunteers, dropping to 28,436 – just 68 per cent of the 2024 level.
(Excerpt) Read more at scmp.com ...
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They’re not willing to fight. Find a few countries where they can disperse the 21 million people. Leave as many of the old folks behind. They’re the ones who set this up. The chip factories can be relocated.
Sounds like time for a draft.
Taiwan isn’t Poland 1939.
It’s Austria 1938. Most of the world operates on genetics.
Taiwan has a draft.
Wiki
In December 2022, President Tsai Ing-wen announced the extension of compulsory military service to one year from four months from 2024, returning to the duration of conscription from 2008 to 2013, citing the rising military threat from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
After completing the service period required by law, the conscription age male citizens are transformed into military reserve force. Male citizens performed Standing Soldier Service has their conscription age end and discharged in the next 1 January after their 36th birthday. However, male citizens performed in Reserved Officer and Non-Commissioned Officer Service has their conscription age end and discharged until they turned 50 in age.
Appeasement never works for long.
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