Fewer troops in Penghu amid lower birth rate and high employment

Fewer troops in Penghu amid lower birth rate and high employment

2024-09-10

The 2025 budgeting plan for the Ministry of National Defense was made available online Monday morning, sparking attention for cuts to the number of troops to be stationed in the outlying islands. According to the official document, there will be 15% less soldiers to Penghu in 2025, a decrease of more than 1,000 people. The ministry clarified earlier that the cuts could be attributed to low birth rates and higher employment rates, and reiterated that all budgetary decisions were made after careful assessments.

President Lai-Ching-te stopped at Penghu to recognize troops stationed on the archipelago. The visit sparked attention to the defense ministry’s budgeting plan for 2025, which revealed cuts to the number of military personnel in outlying islands.

Kao Chih-hsiung
Ministry of National Defense
The number of personnel to the Penghu Region has diminished by 15%. This is mainly due to lower birth rates of recent years and more hiring by businesses, among other factors. Therefore after considering the number of officers currently in service and the number entering retirement, the ministry slashed the number of volunteer soldiers for the year 2025.

This year, 7,185 military personnel are stationed in Penghu. The number will fall by 15% to 6,093 persons next year. Both conscripts and volunteer soldiers will have a smaller presence. Meanwhile, the number of troops to Kinmen and Matsu, currently at around 8,200 persons, will see a slight increase next year. Although the number of conscripts to Kinmen and Matsu will decrease by nearly 500, there will be 550 more volunteer soldiers.

Chen Chien-yi
ROC Army
As for stationed troops, having defensive personnel in outlying islands has always been our utmost priority. There’s no such thing as too few soldiers in current enrollment.

Wang Ting-yu
Lawmaker (DPP)
Balancing the duties of conscripts and volunteer soldiers has nothing to do with whether they’re stationed in outlying islands or not. They play an important role for Taiwan, for the country, regardless. So the ministry will make the most suitable arrangements.

Although the number of volunteer soldiers had decreased due to low birth rates, the defense ministry reiterated the importance of outlying islands, stating that personnel arrangements were done after holistic assessments of the military’s defense capabilities.

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澎湖駐軍減15%引關注國防部:少子化.企業徵才等影響

2024-09-10

明年度國防預算書，以澎湖為主的預算員額，下降1千多人，減幅高達15%，引發外界關注！對此，國防部解釋，主要是因受到少子化、企業徵才等因素影響，所以下修"志願役預算員額"。不過仍強調，陸軍不管外島還是離島，一直都優先重視，沒有編現偏低的情形。

中秋節前，總統賴清德到澎湖勗勉國軍部隊，還頒發加菜金，跟官兵們一起用餐，不過，攤開明年度國防預算書，以澎湖為主的離島預算員額卻減少，外界好奇，是出於什麼考量。

[[國防部資源司財務資源處長高志雄]]
“澎湖地區預算員額減少15%，主要是受到近年來少子化趨勢，以及社會企業徵才等等的因素影響，因此審酌現員數以及退補情形之後，下修了114年度志願役的預算員額”

澎湖群島預算員額，今年為7185人，明年遽減為6093人，降幅高達15%，其中志願役和義務役雙雙減少。至於金門、馬祖，今年和明年都是8200多人，不過志願役減少近500人，相對地，義務役增加550人。

[[國防部陸軍參謀長陳建義]]
“駐軍的部分，對於外離島守備的編現，我們一直都是優先的重視，是沒有所謂的編現偏低的狀況”

[[立委(民) 王定宇]]
“志願役跟義務役之間的職缺調配，對於台灣來講，整體守備不分離外島，對國家都很重要，所以國軍會做最妥適最合宜的安排”

受到少子化影響，志願役人數減少，不過，國軍強調，離島和外島都十分重要。會以防衛作戰做整體考量，不會鬆懈。

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