Military of the Republic of China

• Republic of China Army
• Republic of China Navy
• *Republic of China Marine Corps
• Republic of China Air Force
• Republic of China Military Police

Reforms and development

Civilian control of the military

Arms purchases

ROC Navy Kang Ding-class (Lafayette-class) frigate with S-70C helicopter

Acquisitions over the next several years will emphasize modern C 4 ISR equipment that will vastly improve communications and data-sharing among services. These and other planned acquisitions will gradually shift the island’s strategic emphasis to offshore engagement of invading Chinese forces. It is hoped that this will serve to reduce civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure in the event of armed conflict.

The ROC's armed forces are equipped with weapons obtained primarily from the United States which has supplied it with 150 F-16A/B Block-20 MLU fighters,4 E-2 Hawkeyes, the licence production of Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, 60 AH-1W attack helos, 39 OH-58D scout helos and 200 Patriot PAC-II SAMs among others. The United States has also authorized the sale of eight diesel submarines in 2001, although it is not clear if and how these subs are to be delivered since the United States does not build diesel submarines and other nations are unlikely to sell these weapons because of PRC pressure. As consequence Taiwan might get a modernised Babel-class design. But Taiwan will take delivery of four Kidd-class destroyers starting from late 2005. Also delivery of M109A6 units started in 2003 together with two additional E2C Hawkeyes and nine Chinook heavy transport helos in 2004. In 1992 the USA also agreed to sell the AEGIS SPY 1F to Taiwan to be installed on a special version of the Perry. However due to technical difficulties this plan was later given up by Taiwan. In light of the continuous ballistic missile buildup by the PRC, Taipei has also expressed interest in participating in or developing ballistic missile defense capibilities, possibly in conjunction with the U.S. or Japan, though it is unclear whether the U.S. would permit such collaboration to take place.

The ROC has also procured 2 Zwaardvis MK2 class submarines from the Netherlands, and 60 Mirage 2000-5Di/Ei fighters from France together with six French La Fayette stealth frigates. Also Taiwan acquired four minesweepers from Germany. These sales were made in the late 1980s/early '90s and because of PRC pressure, future large scale sales from Europe appear unlikely.

The military has also stressed military "self-reliance," which has resulted in the growth of indigenous military production in certain fields most notably the Indigenous Defense Fighter, Taiwan's own MLRS the RT-2000 and SAMs like the Sky Bow I and II. Taiwan also developed its own Hsung Feng series of supersonic anti-ship missile. The ROC's efforts at arms purchases have consistently been blocked by PRC. In addition the PRC has consistently attempted to block communications between the ROC military and other militaries and this has led some observers to fear that this is causing ROC's military to fall behind doctrinally.

Doctrine and exercises

ROCAF AIDC F-CK Indigenous Defence Fighters

The primary goal of the ROC Armed Forces is to provide a credible deterrent against hostile action by establishing effective counterstrike and defense capabilities. Should hostilities occur, current ROC military doctrine centers upon the principle of "offshore engagement" where the primary goal of the armed forces in any conflict with the PRC would be to keep as much of the fighting away from Taiwan proper for as long as possible to minimize damage to infrastructure and civilian casualties. The military has also begun to take the threat of a sudden "decapitation attack" by the PRC seriously. Consequently, these developments have seen a growing emphasis on the role of the Navy and Air Force (where the Army had traditionally dominated); as well as the development of rapid reaction forces and quick mobilization of local reserve forces.

A series of computer simulations conducted by the ROC Ministry of National Defense in 2004 predicted that, in the event of a full scale invasion by the PRC, Taipei would fall after almost three weeks. It also showed that the ROC Air Force would be eliminated by about the fifth day. However, the simulation results indicate that the PRC would lose about two-thirds of all its military forces in the process. The results of the simulation are hotly debated since they came at a time when the Legislative Yuan was debating one of the largest arms procurement packages in recent years. Example of a simulated wargame of a cross-straits conflict.

Foreign cooperation

Japan

Singapore

Starting in 1975, Singapore has sent units from its military to train in Taiwan due to the lack of space in the city-state under the Starlight training program (星光計畫). Singapore forces training in Taiwan numbered roughly 3000 as of 2005.

United States

Collaboration between the ROC and US militaries began during World War II when both nations were members of the Allied forces, and continued through the Chinese Civil War when ROC forces were supplied primarily by the US until the final evacuation of ROC forces to Taiwan in 1949. Initially the U.S. expected the ROC government to fall and withdrew support until the outbreak of the Korean War when the U.S. 7th Fleet was ordered to the Taiwan Straits both to protect Taiwan from a PRC attack, and to stop ROC actions against the PRC. A formal US-ROC security pact was signed in 1954 establishing a formal alliance that lasted until US recognition of the PRC in 1979. During this period US military advisors were deployed to the ROC and joint exercises were common. The US and ROC also collaborated on human and electronic intelligence operations directed against the PRC. ROC units also participated in the Korean War and the Vietnam War in noncombat capacities, primarily at the insistence of the United States which was concerned that high profile roles for ROC forces in these conflicts would lead to full scale PRC intervention.

High level cooperation ended with the US recognition of the PRC in 1979, when all remaining US forces in Taiwan were withdrawn. The US continued to supply the ROC with arms sales per the Taiwan Relations Act, albeit in a diminished role. While ROCAF pilots continued to train at Luke AFB in Arizona, cooperation is still limited primarily to civilian contractors.

In recent years, the ROC military has again begun higher level cooperation with the U.S. Military after over two decades of relative isolation. Senior officers from the U.S. Pacific Command observed the annual Han Kuang military exercises in 2005. The US also upgraded its military liaison position in Taipei from a position held by retired officers hired on a contractual basis to one held by an active duty officer the same year.Nonetheless the US continues to maintain a policy of strategic ambiguity as to whether or not it would intervene in a cross-Straits conflict.

Military ranks

The ROC Military's rank structure is patterned after that of the U.S. Armed Forces. Note that the titles of each rank are the same in Chinese for all four military branches, and there are no Brigadier Generals/Commodores in the rank structure. The corresponding titles in English for each service are also provided.

ROC Officer Ranks

Chinese title	Army / Marines / MP	Navy	Air Force
一級/二級上將	General	Admiral	General
中將	Lieutenant General	Vice Admiral	Lieutenant General
少將	Major General	Rear Admiral	Major General
准將(無此階級)	Brigadier General	Commodore	Brigadier General
上校	Colonel	Captain	Colonel
中校	Lieutenant Colonel	Commander	Lieutenant Colonel
少校	Major	Lieutenant Commander	Major
上尉	Captain	Lieutenant	Captain
中尉	1st Lieutenant	Lieutenant Junior Grade	1st Lieutenant
少尉	2nd Lieutenant	Ensign	2nd Lieutenant

ROC Enlisted Ranks

Chinese title	Army / Marines / MP	Navy	Air Force
一等士官長	Sergeant Major	Master Chief Petty Officer	Chief Master Sergeant
二等士官長	Master Sergeant	Senior Chief Petty Officer	Senior Master Sergeant
三等士官長	Sergeant First Class	Chief Petty Officer	Master Sergeant
上士	Staff Sergeant	Petty Officer 1st Class	Technical Sergeant
中士	Sergeant	Petty Officer 2nd Class	Staff Sergeant
下士	Corporal	Petty Officer 3rd Class	Senior Airman
上等兵	Private First Class	Seaman First Class	Airman First Class
一等兵	Private	Seaman	Airman
二等兵	Private Basic	Seaman Apprentice	Airman Basic

Major deployments, battles & incidents

ROC on Mainland China (1912-1949)

ROC soldiers marching to the front lines in 1939

• Northern Expedition: 1925
• First Communist Insurrection/Purge: 1927-1937
• *Nanchang Uprising: 1927
• *Autumn Harvest Uprising: 1927
• *Xi'an Incident: December 12, 1936
• Second Sino-Japanese War / World War II: 1937-1945
• *Marco Polo Bridge Incident: July 7, 1937
• *Battle of Shanghai: August 13 - November 9, 1937
• *Battle of Nanjing: October - December, 1937
• *Battle of Taierzhuang: March 24 - April 7, 1938
• *First Battle of Changsha: September 17 - October 6, 1939
• *Second Battle of Changsha: September 6 - October 8, 1941
• *Third Battle of Changsha: December 24, 1941 - January 15, 1942
• *Defense of Sichuan: 1942 - 1943
• *Battle of Hengyang-Changsha: June 1944 - April 1945
• Chinese Civil War: 1945 - 1949
• * New Fourth Army Incident: 1940
• 228 Incident: February 28 - March 1947

ROC on Taiwan (1949-present)

ROCN honor guard at the Martyr's Shrine in Taipei.

• Battle of Kuningtou: October 25 - October 28, 1949
• Korean War: 1950-1953, Translators, cross border raids into southwest China from Burma.
• First Taiwan Strait Crisis: August 1954 - May 1955
• *Fall of Yijiangshan: January 18, 1955
• *Tachen Evacuation: February 7 - 11, 1955
• Second Taiwan Strait Crisis: August 23 - early October, 1958
• Vietnam War: 1960s, Deployment of small groups of ROC troops disguised as locals, transportation, and technical assistance. Not widely publicized to avoid PRC involvement.
• Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: July 21, 1995 - March 23, 1996
• Southeast Asian tsunami relief: January 2005

Nuclear weapons program

The development of nuclear weapons by the ROC has been a contentious issue, as it is one of the reasons over which the PRC has pledged to attack Taiwan. The U.S., hoping to avoid escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait, has continually opposed arming Taiwan with nuclear weapons. Accordingly, the ROC adheres to the principles of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has stated that it does not intend to produce nuclear weapons. Past nuclear research by the ROC makes it a 'threshold' nuclear state.

In 1967, a nuclear weapons program began under the auspices of the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER) at the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology. The ROC was able to acquire nuclear technology from abroad (including a research reactor from Canada and low-grade plutonium from the United States) allegedly for a civilian energy system, but in actuality to develop fuel for nuclear weapons.

After the International Atomic Energy Agency found evidence of the ROC's efforts to produce weapons-grade plutonium, Taipei agreed in September 1976 under U.S. pressure to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. Though the nuclear reactor was soon shut down and the plutonium mostly returned to the U.S., work continued secretly.

A secret program was revealed again when Colonel Chang Hsien-yi, deputy director of nuclear research at INER, defected to the U.S. in December 1987 and produced a cache of incriminating documents. General Hau Pei-tsun claimed that scientists in Taiwan had already produced a controlled nuclear reaction. Under pressure from the U.S., the program was halted yet again.

During the 1995-1996 Taiwan Strait crisis, then ROC President Lee Teng-hui proposed to reactivate the program, but was forced to back down a few days later after drawing intense criticism.

See also

This page contains Chinese text. Without proper [Enabling East Asian charactersrendering support], you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

• National Revolutionary Army
• Whampoa Military Academy
• Chiang Kai-shek
• Sino-German cooperation
• Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology
• Military history of China
• People's Liberation Army
• Taiwan and weapons of mass destruction

References

External links

• [ROC Ministry of National Defense (Traditional Chinese)][(English)]

Military of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
ROC Army ROC Navy ROC Air Force
ROC Military Police ROC Marines

 

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