Taiwan to include female veterans in reserve forces, train alongside men

Taiwan is moving to amend its laws on reserve force mobilization to include women who have completed military service, as the island faces sustained military pressure from China.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense outlined the plan in a report submitted Monday to the Legislative Yuan's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, according to Taiwanese media.

The ministry said it plans to incorporate female reservists into the mobilization system through amendments to the Military Service Act and related regulations. Female officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel who left active duty within the past 12 years and meet active-duty physical standards would train alongside male reservists.

A source said that even reservists not currently subject to mobilization training could be called up in a military emergency based on operational needs.

Taiwan maintained a conscription system requiring two to three years of service from 1951, but under President Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang, the obligation was reduced to four months in 2013. A volunteer military system was introduced in parallel from December 2018.

As Chinese military threats persisted, then-President Tsai Ing-wen pushed through legislation in December 2022 extending mandatory service from four months back to one year, effective January 2024.

The ministry's latest policy is understood to reflect both the goal of strengthening combat capability and lessons drawn from Taiwan's low birth rate and Ukraine's difficulties in maintaining troop numbers amid a prolonged war.

Taiwan had already moved in this direction in 2023, when it began allowing female volunteers to participate in reserve training as part of its efforts to counter the Chinese threat.

‘빚투 수요’ 폭발에 카드론 잔액 43조 돌파…또 ‘최대치’

https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10785145