Taiwan's Chief of General Staff announces more integration across Armed Forces

台灣參謀總長宣布加強國軍部隊的整合

Chief of General Staff orders increased military interoperability to boost eastern Taiwan's defense


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chief of the General Staff Huang Shu-kuang (黃曙光) on Friday (July 31) announced that in the future, the armed forces will be more integrated to closely monitor Chinese targets in the nation’s air and maritime space.

As the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has sent countless military aircraft and warships to circumnavigate Taiwan and intrude into the nation’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) since the beginning of 2020, the Taiwanese military has taken great care to boost defenses, especially on its east coast.

Accompanied by Ministry of National Defense (MND) Chief Sergeant Pan Wen-ching (潘文清), Huang went to the Army's Huadong (Hualien-Taidong) Defense Command in Hualien and met with Minister of National Defense Yen Teh-fa (嚴德發) to listen to briefings and review the current situation of combat readiness, training, and the effectiveness of volunteer recruitment, according to Military News Agency.

Li Jung-hua (李榮華), the commander of the Huadong Defense Command, and Lieutenant General Sun Lien-sheng (孫連勝), the commander of the Air Force’s Department of Education and Standards, and other important military cadres presented up-to-date military reports to the visiting officials.

Huang pointed out that as the military’s Huadong combat zone would be the first to face any Chinese military threats in the east, the armed forces operating within the zone will be integrated to closely monitor enemy targets — in the air, on the surface, and underwater — and to strengthen defense capabilities, Liberty Times reported. At the same time, this would let officers and soldiers understand that the military adheres to the doctrine of “preparing for war without seeking war, and stopping war without fear of conflict” to maintain regional peace and stability and ensure national security, he stated.

Huang also stressed that officers and soldiers alike must realize that all training and maintenance work must be carried out safely. He encouraged officers to "live together, work together, study together, and fight together" with subordinates and urged officers to use their talents and improve the overall humanistic quality of the military.

These tenets will help develop Taiwan’s military into a modern force that is "loyal to the nation, loyal to fellow soldiers, loyal to the people, and adherent to its duties," Huang concluded.