| Republic of China Armed Forces | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 中華民國國軍 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中华民国国军 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Chinese Republic National Army | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Shorter name: National Army | |||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 國軍 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 国军 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Former name: National Revolutionary Army | |||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 國民革命軍 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 国民革命军 | ||||||||||||||||||
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The Republic of China Armed Forces[a] are the armed forces of the Republic of China (ROC), which once ruled Mainland China and is now currently restricted to its territorial jurisdictions of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu Islands. They consist of the Army, Navy (including the Marine Corps), Air Force and Military Police Force. The military is under the civilian control of the Ministry of National Defense, a cabinet-level agency overseen by the Legislative Yuan.
Formerly known as the National Revolutionary Army (NRA), it was renamed the Republic of China Armed Forces in 1947 due to the implementation of the newly promulgated Constitution of the Republic of China.[7] It was also historically referred as the Chinese National Armed Forces (CNAF) prior to the establishment of the People's Republic of China on the Chinese mainland and the gradual loss of international recognition in the 1970s by the United Nations and many countries, including the ROC's close ally, the United States.
Until the late 1970s, the military's primary mission was to prepare for an invasion of the Communist-controlled People's Republic of China (PRC) through efforts such as Project National Glory.[8] The military's current primary mission is the defense of Taiwan against a possible military invasion by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of the PRC, which is seen as the predominant threat[9][10] in the ongoing dispute over the ambiguous political status of Taiwan dating back to the de facto end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
The ROCAF has an approximate active strength of between 169,000 and 180,000 personnel, and is capable of mobilizing as many as 2.5 million reservists in the event of national exigencies or a full-scale war. It also has a large pool of former conscripts, with every fit male citizen of the ROC having to serve a year when they reach the military age of 18.
- ^ Lee, Yimou. "Taiwan to extend conscription to one year, citing rising China threat". Reuters. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- ^ Dotson, John (8 February 2023). "Taiwan's "Military Force Restructuring Plan" and the Extension of Conscripted Military Service". Global Taiwan Brief. Global Taiwan Institute.
- ^ IISS 2023, p. 291.
- ^ SAITO, MARI; LEE, YIMOU; LAGUE, DAVID. "The leader who's standing up to China". www.reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ Momma Rira (门间理良) (1 February 2017). "中国安全战略报告 — 不断变化的中台关系" [China Security Strategy Report 2017 – Continuously Changing China-Taiwan Relation] (PDF) (in Simplified Chinese). Translated by The Japan Times. Tokyo, Japan: National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS), Ministry of Defense (Japan). p. 2. ISBN 978-4-86482-048-6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ Da Li (7 June 2024). ""中国人不打中国人"，但"台独"武装不在此列！" ["Chinese do not fight Chinese", but excluding "Taiwan independence" armed forces!] (in Simplified Chinese). Fuzhou, Fujian: Voice of the Strait. Retrieved 31 October 2024 – via Taihai Channel, Fujian Daily.
- ^ National Assembly (制憲國民大會) (25 December 1946). "Clause 138". 中華民國憲法 [Constitution of the Republic of China] (in Traditional Chinese). Nanjing: National Assembly. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
全國陸海空軍，須超出個人、地域及黨派關係以外，效忠國家，愛護人民。(English translation: The land, sea and air forces of the whole country shall be above personal, regional, or party affiliations, shall be loyal to the state, and shall protect the people.)
{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help) - ^ "Project National Glory", Wikipedia, 28 August 2024, retrieved 1 September 2024
- ^ "2004 National Defense White Paper" (PDF). ROC Ministry of National Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 September 2006. Retrieved 5 March 2006.
- ^ "2004 National Defense Report" (PDF). ROC Ministry of National Defense. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2006. Retrieved 5 March 2006.
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