Taiwan to recruit 16,000-plus voluntary soldiers in 2106

Taiwan’s military on Friday said it has set a target to recruit a total of 16,360 men and women to join the Armed Forces as voluntary service members in 2016, as the nation approaches its planned goal to transform into an all-volunteer force by 2017.

In a released statement, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said the goal to recruit 16,360 voluntary service members was set after calculating the average recruitment numbers over the past few years and consulting with all military branches, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA,) and the National Security Bureau (NSB).

Among the 16,360 recruits, 15,000 of them will serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force and other military units in the future, while 1,300 will be deployed to the CGA and 60 to the NSB, it noted.

The targeted recruitment goal is already higher than the goals set in previous years. The goal in 2015, for instance, was set at 14,000, it noted.

The MND’s statement came as a clarification after a local media outlet reported earlier this week that the MND is lowering the recruitment goal in 2016 as it only recently announced to continue to enlist conscripts to serve one year in the military next year.

In response, the MND said the latest recruitment goal is already the highest number in the past few years.

If recruitment goes smoother than expected, it said the military will recruit more to join the local Armed Forces.

In 2014, the planned annual target was set at 10,557 personnel. But the military ultimately accepted 15,024 as more Taiwanese men and women filed for application to the military that year than expected, it noted.

As of Thursday, a total of 12,180 men and women have joined the military this year, with an original target of 14,000 set for 2015, it added.

With the passage of a draft amendment to provide better incentives and subsidies to military personnel and dependents earlier this month in the Legislature, the MND said it will continue to push the military transformation in the hope to meet the planned goal to become an all-volunteer force by 2017.

The military originally announced in late 2011 that the R.O.C. Armed Forces would be transformed into an all-volunteer service from the existing conscription system by Jan 1, 2015.

The MND, however, in September 2013, announced that it would postpone the abolishment of the conscription system by two years to 2017 due to sluggish volunteer recruitment numbers.

To boost recruitment, the government has launched a series of incentives and raised salaries over the past two years.

RELATED STORIES

Taiwan unveils its biggest ever military drone

Taiwan simulates attacks by political rival China