Some Taiwanese ‘NSmen’ Not Ready to Fight Should China Invade

Men in both Singapore and Taiwan have to go through one thing in their lives, and that is National Service.

National service refers to conscription for all men in both countries.

The length of service for both countries is very different, though; read on and you’d understand.

With the rising threats of China invading Taiwan, National Service for the Taiwanese has never been as important.

Reservists Not Prepared for War

Henry Cheng, an army reservist, feels like he is not prepared to go to war if China’s words become a reality.

Although he has become used to the Chinese jets and warships circling his island, Mr Cheng said that he would probably die very quickly if a war were to happen.

Mr Cheng is one of the 2.5 million Taiwanese army personnel in reserve, who can be called up for action if an invasion took place.

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Mandatory Service Too Short

National Service used to be super unpopular back in the day and some may argue that it is still unpopular even now.

Unlike Singapore, ever since Taiwan military’s establishment, it has shifted to become a more volunteer-dominated professional force by reducing mandatory service from one year to four months.

This change, however, may be a drawback with three-quarters of Taiwanese indicating that four months of National Service is too short.

Many have quoted that they did not really learn anything during their four months in the force as they are there to do “a lot of paperwork” and do not have much time for shooting and physical training.

Reservists further added that their job was to “know how to fire a gun and die on the battlefield” and they were only given 12 bullets for target practice.

In Singapore, our NS military training usually comprises about three months of basic military training, six to nine months of specialised training or command school training…and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Taiwan Remains Militarily Inferior

According to an estimate by the Pentagon, as of 2022, Taiwan’s 88,000 ground forces are still vastly outgunned by China’s one million ground forces even though Taiwan has stepped up reservist training and increased its spending on jets and anti-ship missiles.

Uncertain about the fortitude of the force, a retired air force colonel Richard Chou, who has served for 21 years said, “It’s not only about a person holding the rifle. They also have to learn how to work as a group in situations if they have a hope of resisting in the future.”

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Featured Image: Jeng Bo Yuan / Shutterstock.com