The launch of a specialized agency responsible for the mobilization of reservists during wartime and for disaster relief is meant to show the world Taiwan’s resolute determination to safeguard national security, President Tsai Ing-wen (???) said Thursday.

Speaking during the inauguration ceremony for the All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency (???????), Tsai said she had instructed the Ministry of National Defense (MND) to establish the special agency as part of an ongoing reform of the nation’s reserve forces to make them a more reliable backup for regular soldiers.

Due to the advancement of defense technology and the challenges posed by modern warfare, maintaining the combat readiness of the nation must not solely rely on a standing army but also on the efforts made by every citizen, according to Tsai.

The MND is also currently drafting an “all-out-defense handbook” that will increase the public’s knowledge and understanding of mobilization, air raid shelters, and other responsive mechanisms in the event of both wartime and peacetime emergencies, she said.

“The establishment of the ‘all-out-defense’ concept is key for Taiwan if it is to continue bolstering its national defense capabilities to show the world its resolute determination to defend itself,” Tsai said.

The new agency will be tasked with beefing up training for Taiwan’s reservists, coordinating cross-ministries cooperation to boost the capabilities of national reservists in the event of war and in disaster relief, and revamping mobilization plans for the nation’s reserve forces to meet increasing threats, the president said.

According to the MND, the agency is an upgrade of the existing All-Out Defense Mobilization Office under the MND headquarters.

The number of staff at the newly established agency will also increase from 30 to 150.

Army Lieutenant General Pai Chieh-lung (???), currently in charge of the MND’s Department of Resource Planning, has been named as the first head of the agency, which will officially start operations Jan. 1.

Asked to comment on the significance of the new agency, Su Tzu-Yun (???), a senior analyst at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told CNA that elevating the agency’s status from an office under the MND to an independent unit would give it more leverage when negotiating with other government branches with regards to reservists mobilization and disaster relief.

The scholar at the government-funded think tank also said the agency was expected to play a major role in conducting international exchanges with U.S. National Guard that would help Taiwan learn from Washington’s example when it came to a beefed-up reserve force.

However, Chieh Chung (??), an associate research fellow with the National Policy Foundation, a think tank affiliated with the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), warned that the new agency’s founding would not solve some of the major challenges facing the nation’s reserve force, such as a lack of qualified officers to conduct training.

He also suggested that amendments to existing laws were required so that military personnel would be able to join regular cabinet-level mobilization briefings — something that is not mandatory under existing laws.

Without its presence, the MND does not have access to the preparation work of other government branches in terms of mobilization, he said. The MND also cannot fully communicate its mobilization needs to other government branches if it has no representative in such meetings, he added.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel