TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan needs to prioritize national security and strengthen asymmetric warfare capabilities, Oriana Skylar Mastro, a fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and Alessio Patalano, professor of war and strategy in East Asia at King’s College in London, said Tuesday.
Mastro and Patalano made recommendations on how Taiwan can better strengthen its defense against a Chinese invasion during a Taiwan Foreign Correspondents' Club panel discussion Tuesday.
Mastro urged Taiwan to begin conscripting women into its military to improve whole-of-society defense. “You cannot be really serious about a whole-of-society defense if your conscription is only of men,” she said. “You have half of the population who are completely incapable of defending (themselves). Not great,” she added.
On Jan. 1, 2024, Taiwan began implementing one-year conscription for all males born in 2005 or later. Mastro suggested Taiwan learn from Israel’s approach and “actually train everyone to resist and to fight.”
Taiwan introduced a dual-track reservist training system in 2022. Reservists can either take the standard option of five to seven days of training, done four times over eight years, or choose 14 days of training, done twice within the same period.
Mastro also urged Taiwan to continue increasing defense spending and investing in asymmetric capabilities. She noted that the military has begun to do so but “there has to be a little bit more honesty about the quality of the capabilities that are developing.”
Taiwan has proposed a defense budget of NT$1.1225 trillion (US$35.3 billion) for 2027, which Mastro noted is approximately 29% of the central government’s approved NT$3.93 trillion budget.
Mastro said Taiwan must decide what its priorities are. “Everything has to be about the defense and resilience and security of Taiwan, and that means making some tough decisions and making some sacrifices,” she said, pointing out that the opposition KMT still maintains close interactions with the Chinese Communist Party.
Taiwan has not made those sacrifices yet, which sparks doubt among the international community, she said. People are going to wonder, “Is Taiwan really going to put up the resistance necessary (to counter China)?”
“If Beijing is wondering that, that's not good. And if the American people are wondering that, that's not good.”
She acknowledged that Taiwan has already made significant strides in decoupling from China economically. “No one thought that that was possible,” she said.
Patalano emphasized that Taiwan should “invest like there's no tomorrow in undersea domain capability.” “It's the one place where you can develop (an) absolute kill zone,” he said, which is an advantage for Taiwan.
The country is already developing an undersea unmanned vessel, dubbed the Huilong. It is a joint project between the National Chung Shan Institute of Technology and Lungteh Shipbuilding, per Radio Taiwan International. It underwent sea trials in 2024.
The Taiwan Navy is also conducting tests for its first domestically produced submarine, the Narwhal, which is expected to remain on track for delivery later this year. The Navy plans to acquire eight submarines to patrol the nation’s waters.
Last month, NCSIST signed an MOU with US defense startup VATN Systems to establish a technical partnership on unmanned underwater vehicles and promote innovation and system integration for autonomous underwater vehicles. The institute said the deal would accelerate related technological development, improve underwater reconnaissance capabilities, and bolster the nation’s asymmetric warfare capacity and maritime defense resilience.
Patalano also said Taiwan should bolster resilience by developing an integrated communication system. He warned that reliance on a foreign system meant that if a Taiwan Strait conflict broke out, “whatever contract you might have … the contract is no longer valued as it was.”
NCSIST has already developed an ICS, which “provides wired and wireless connections in a communication control center,” according to its website. “It is suitable to support those communication mission systems which require long-range and mobile capabilities,” the institute added.
Additionally, the Taiwan Space Agency plans to expand development of CubeSats, next-generation communications satellites, and secure satellite networks. It also seeks to launch eight Formosat-8 optical satellites and two Formosat-9 synthetic aperture radar satellites by 2030, TASA Director-General Wu Jong-shinn (吳宗信) said in July.
Patalano said developing a national security strategy is also a priority. Having one provides “clear guidance to everybody” on how to integrate different government agencies during wartime, he said, adding that this makes deterrence more manageable and preparation for war more realistic.
Taiwan first distributed the “National Public Safety Guide” to all citizens and residents in 2022, which contains detailed information on how to respond to crises, such as natural disasters. It also includes instructions for how to handle military aggression, warning the public that “in the event of a military invasion of Taiwan, any claim that the government has surrendered or that the nation has been defeated is false.”
