Soldiers drive their military vehicles past Taiwan flags during an army exercise in Hsinchu, central Taiwan January 27, 2010. REUTERS/Nicky Loh
A retired Taiwanese army general claims the country's military would be undermanned and ill-equipped for a war with China, questioning in a recent interview: "Are they supposed to fight with brooms?"
Former Republic of China Army Major General Hsiao Tien-liu cast doubt on Taiwan's combat readiness just one week after Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa said the island could mobilize roughly 450,000 troops in the event of a military invasion.
At a committee meeting on October 22, Yen said President Tsai Ing-wen could deploy 185,000 active service members and call up some 260,000 reserves if People's Liberation Army forces crossed the Taiwan Strait.
However, Hsiao, who was head of procurement at the defense ministry's Armaments Bureau, said it would be a "very difficult" task.
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WNU Editor: Taiwan cannot compete against China. All that it can do is discourage Beijing that the cost for invading Taiwan would be enormous (which it will be).
