Nanshipu, Taiwan - Tsai Ing-wen, the Taiwanese President on Saturday, visited army reservists training under a new scheme to bolster war readiness. The programme has acquired an added stimulus from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, given China's hostility against the island.

The Ukraine-Russian war has stirred debate in Chinese-claimed Taiwan about its own readiness and strategies should Beijing take a step to take the island by force.

Taiwan's government announced late last year a reform of the training of its reserve forces, doubling down on combat and shooting exercises. Under the new programme which began this month, reservists get two weeks of training, rather than the previous five to seven days, and spend more time on combat training like firing guns.

Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told reporters there were many lessons they could learn from Ukraine, where he said people were being given guns and sent to fight after only a few days of training.

Taiwan has been gradually shifting from a conscript military to a volunteer-dominated professional force.

Reuters reported that the switch was troublesome and has led to a gutting of the 2.31 million-strong reserve force. Some complained of wasting time on pointless drills and lectures during retraining.

Taiwan and Ukraine's armed forces are both undermanned and under gunned compared to their giant neighbours.

Tsai has championed the concept of "asymmetric warfare" to make the military more mobile, harder to attack and better able to survive and strike back in a war, as Beijing steps up what Taipei views as its threats against the island.
-Reuters