Military draft regulations to be changed

Defense officials yesterday announced new physical eligibility standards for conscription and a military exercise next month that would include new tanks, drones and command-and-control systems. Tsai Shih-hung (蔡適鴻), director of the Ministry of National Defense Medical Affairs Bureau’s Department of Health Service and Medical Care, told a news conference at the ministry in Taipei that the height and weight requirements for military draft would be adjusted. The changes were finalized following the end of the policy’s public comment period on Monday last week, he said. Photo: Fan Wei-li, Taipei Times The new rules stipulate that people shorter than 1.44m or those with a body mass index (BMI) higher than 45 would be exempted from mandatory military service, as part of extensive changes to the regulations governing physical requirements of active service troops, he said. The amendments would result in fewer exemptions, as current regulations grant the status to people who are shorter than 1.45m, taller than 1.96m, or whose BMI is under 15 or over 35. The preview of the regulations for the public comment period showed that officials plan to change 160 out of the 176 rules governing exemptions and medical discharges from active military service. The rules would simplify the standards for exempting or discharging troops with cancer and gout. Malignant tumors would lead to a blanket exemption or discharge after the diagnosis has been confirmed with no additional conditions, and people who experience gout-related joint inflammation, joint damage or tophus would be discharged. Blood pressure standards would remain, but the verification and documentation process is adjusted to prevent draft dodging. The new rules stipulate that blood pressure must be measured multiple times during one to three uninterrupted days of hospital stay, instead of over 24 hours. People who have had pulmonary tuberculosis would be medically discharged only if they also showed moderate or severe impairments to lung function, Separately, Major General Lin Shih-wei (林士偉) told a news conference that the second edition of the national brigade-level drills would pit the 269th Combined Arms Brigade against the 564th Combined Arms Brigade from Oct. 14 to 23. The event, named “Lu Sheng 2” (陸勝2號), would serve as a certification test for the army’s recently acquired M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks, Taiwan Tactical Network, Eutelsat OneWeb satellite telecommunications and uncrewed aerial vehicles, he said. The units would engage in simulated combat from the first day of the exercise through its conclusion with no scripted maneuvers or predetermined outcomes, Lin said. The drills are centered on brigade and battalion-level command and control, fire support coordination, delaying actions, joint air-land operations, and the use of drones and special operations forces, he said. The army increased Lu Sheng 2’s duration to 10 days from seven days to exercise the troops’ ability to conduct sustained operations without pause, Tsai said. The exercise area is relocated to Taiwan proper’s strategically important northern region to familiarize units with key terrain features for defensive and offensive operations, he added. The Army Corps-level headquarters would form commands tasked with coordinating and conducting joint operations, and the reserve commands would liaise between the military and local governments, Lin said. The exercise should function as an end-of-the-year test for combat preparedness and tactical proficiency for army brigades, he said. UNITY: Lai thanked the nations who spoke up for Taiwan, saying that democracies must stand together to face global authoritarian expansion Taiwan yesterday thanked eight European and Indo-Pacific countries for opposing unilateral changes to the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait in a joint statement earlier this week, as well as three of Taiwan’s allies for speaking up for the nation’s participation in the UN at the body’s General Assembly in New York. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) welcomed the support and expressed his appreciation for the countries’ stance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Foreign ministers and senior representatives of Australia, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, South Korea and the UK issued a statement on Tuesday PLEA: How the UN addresses Taiwan’s security issue would be a test of its strength and relevance, Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine told the UN General Assembly Only Taiwan’s elected government can represent the people of Taiwan, Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine said on Friday at the UN General Assembly, calling for the nation’s inclusion in the UN. Taiwan and its 23 million people are a reality, and only its democratically elected government can represent it, Heine said when addressing the 81st session of the UN General Assembly General Debate. Appropriate ways must be found for Taiwan’s substantive participation in UN meetings if the UN is to be truly inclusive and effective in years to come, she said. UN member states would experience pressure to accept a FACTS DISTORTION: The MAC rejected Xi’s remarks that the US and ‘China’ fought side-by-side during WWII, saying the ROC was Washington’s true ally during the war Taiwan yesterday denounced Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) comments to US President Donald Trump on the nation’s future, after Xi appeared to push Trump for a subtle change in stance that could erode US support for Taiwan. Xi told Trump in Washington on Thursday that he hoped the US would adhere to the “correct position” of opposing Taiwanese independence, according to a Chinese readout of the talks. That would be a tougher version of Washington’s long-standing formulation that it does not “support” independence. There was no immediate White House readout of the exchange. Xi’s remarks represent “the consistent Chinese approach of distorting facts RESILIENCE: Keeping the defense industry’s assembly lines open would prove essential should the nation be involved in a prolonged conflict, a source said The Ministry of National Defense has prepared a NT$22 billion (US$692.3 million) program to acquire about 200 improved Hsiung Feng anti-ship missiles from next year to 2035, a source said. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a high-ranking defense official said the ministry’s plan for enhanced-capability Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III missiles would be funded as part of the regular defense budget. The 200 missiles would be added on top of the 1,400 missiles being funded via the Sea-Air Combat Power Improvement Plan, they said. The program is not about padding missile numbers, but expanding the capability to defeat