Taiwan military gains 5,000 volunteers, but ‘real problem’ is retention

Taiwan’s volunteer force has recorded an unexpected increase of more than 5,000 personnel over the past year despite the island’s worsening demographic decline.

However, lawmakers and military analysts say the growth is driven more by government pay rises than by any apparent shift in young people’s attitudes towards military service.

The figures, released by the defence ministry this week, brought rare good news to an armed force grappling with chronic manpower shortages.

But critics warned that the increase masked deeper structural problems, arguing that boosting recruitment alone would not reverse a long-term decline in combat readiness unless the military could also retain experienced personnel.

Taiwan’s volunteer troop numbers rose by “more than 5,000 as of June from a year earlier”, the defence ministry said in a report submitted to the legislature last Wednesday. It credited the increase to the introduction of “higher military pay, improved living conditions, relaxed recruitment standards and more ‘people-oriented’ personnel management”.

It said the measures had also helped boost volunteer numbers by more than 3,000 in 2025, raise retention rates by 5.2 percentage points and reduce the number of personnel discharged as unsuitable for service by 1,652.