Defense Minister Kao Kuang-chi says Taiwan’s efforts to recruit and retain new soldiers have been successful.
Kao was speaking at the legislature on Wednesday. Kao says the military has seen 14,378 new enlistments from the beginning of the year to the end of September. That’s more than 300 above the military’s recruitment goal for this year. The reenlistment rate for the year so far is also at 71%. That’s an increase of 10% over last year.
Meanwhile, Kao said that in the face of China’s growing military prowess, the defense ministry is working to strengthen Taiwan’s early warning systems and surveillance capabilities. He also said that Taiwan is strengthening its ability to conduct cyberwarfare and increasing military self-sufficiency.
Kao told lawmakers the defense ministry has cooperated with Taiwanese universities on more than 100 military research projects this year. Funding for research this year exceeded US$3 million, with projects including research into anti-submarine warfare simulators. The defense ministry has already earmarked more than US$3 billion of next year’s budget for purchases including Perry-class frigates, upgrades to F-16 fighters, and Patriot missile systems.