Ministry of National Defense (Republic of China)

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Not to be confused with Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China.
Ministry of National Defense
中華民國國防部
Zhōnghuá Mínguó Guófángbù (Mandarin)
Seal of the Ministry of National Defense
(國防部印)

Flag of the Ministry of National Defense
Agency overview
Formed1912; 112 years ago (1912) (as Ministry of War)
1946; 78 years ago (1946) (as Ministry of National Defence)
JurisdictionTaiwan
HeadquartersZhongshan District, Taipei, Taiwan
Annual budgetUS$19.1 billion （2024）
Ministers responsible
Websitewww.mnd.gov.tw Edit this at Wikidata

The Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China (MND; Chinese: 中華民國國防部; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó Guófángbù) is the ministry of the Republic of China (Taiwan) responsible for all defense and military affairs of Taiwan and surrounding area. The MND is headed by Minister Wellington Koo since 2024.

History

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ROC Ministry of National Defense former headquarters

The MND was originally established as Ministry of War in 1912 at the creation of the Republic of China. It established a military occupation operation center in Taipei, Formosa in November 1945, following the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers Douglas MacArthur's September 2, 1945 General Order No. 1, for the surrender of Japanese troops and auxiliary forces in Formosa and the Pescadores to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. It was changed to the Ministry of National Defense in 1946. Military operation activities in Formosa and the Pescadores were expanded after Japan renounced its title, right, and claim to Formosa and the Pescadores based on the April 28, 1952 Treaty of Peace with Japan. The Law of National Defense and the Organic Law of the ministry were officially promulgated for implementation on 1 March 2002.[1]

On 8 December 2014, the ministry moved out from its building from the previous one at Boai Building in Zhongzheng District to the current one in Dazhi area at Zhongshan District, where it houses the Air Force Command Headquarters, Navy Command Headquarters and Heng Shan Military Command Center.[2] The completion of the building had been delayed for nearly two decades due to the compound original architecture and the bankruptcy of the project's original contractor. The planning for the new building and relocation had been done since 1997.[3] The official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on 27 December 2014.[4]

Headquarters

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ROC Ministry of National Defense headquarters

The headquarters of the military was originally in eastern Nanjing near Ming Palace. Today it is located in Dazhi area of Zhongshan District in Taipei. The 8-story main building was constructed at a cost of NT$15.8 billion, spreading over 19.5 hectares of area, which houses office buildings, dormitories and other facilities, such as post office, barbershop, sports center, conference hall and sport center to accommodate its 3,000 military personnel stationed there. It also includes several annex buildings around.[5]

The security features of the building include fingerprint and eye scanners that restrict access to certain areas, sensors that can detect vehicles in the unauthorized areas and that may carry explosives and bollards on the compound to block unauthorized vehicles. The compound also has eco-friendly features, such as stone walls, aluminum and low-emission exterior glass panels. The central air conditioning system is provided by ice storage system to reduce peak load electricity demand. The building also has rainwater collecting facilities which can store up to 1,000 tons of water, complete with its waste water treatment and filtering systems.[4]

Budget

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In 2016 the annual defense budget for Taiwan was NT$320 billion.[6]

In 2021 the Ministry of National Defense began directly funding defense related research at civilian universities. NT$5 billion (US$147 million) were allocated for the first five years of the program with an initial focus on information security and robotics, artificial intelligence, the internet of things and quantum computing. Previously funding had been allocated through intermediaries with most going to military affiliated research organizations like National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST).[7]

Organizational structure

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Armed Forces Reserve Command
Air Force Command Headquarters
National Defense Procurement Office
Armaments Bureau

Headquarter departments

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  • Department of Strategic Planning (戰略規劃司)
  • Department of Resources Planning (資源規劃司)
  • Department of Military Justice (法律事務司)
  • Department of Integrated Assessment (整合評估司)
  • Office of the Inspector General (總督察長室)
  • National Defense Procurement Office (國防採購室)
  • Administration Office (政務辦公室)
  • Personnel Office (人事室)
  • Ethics Office (政風室)
  • Accounting Office (主計室)

Secondary or affiliated authorities

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General staff headquarters

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  • Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Personnel (人事參謀次長室)
  • Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence (情報參謀次長室)
  • Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Operations and Planning (作戰及計畫參謀次長室)
  • Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Logistics (後勤參謀次長室)
  • Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Communications, Electronics and Information (通信電子資訊參謀次長室)
  • Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Training (訓練參謀次長室)[8]
  • Communication Development Office (電訊發展室)
  • Military Intelligence Bureau (軍事情報局)

Military authorities

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  • Army Command Headquarters (陸軍司令部)
  • Navy Command Headquarters (海軍司令部)
  • Air Force Command Headquarters (空軍司令部)

Military institutions

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Affiliated research institutes

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List of ministers

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War

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Duan Qirui, the 1st Minister of War

1. Ministers of War during the Republic of China (1912-1928) (歷代陸軍總長)：

2. Ministers of War during the National Government of the Republic of China (歷代軍政部長)：

3. Ministers of the Navy during the Republic of China (1912-1928) (歷代海軍總長)：

4. Ministers of the Navy during the National Government of the Republic of China (歷代海軍部長)：

5. Chiefs of Staff during the Republic of China (1912-1928) (歷代參謀總長):

6. Chiefs of Staff during the National Government of the Republic of China (歷代參謀總長)：

7. Directors of Training (歷代訓練總監部長)：

8. 歷代軍事參議院長：

National defense

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Main article: Minister of National Defense (Republic of China)

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ John Pike. "Ministry of National Defense". globalsecurity.org.
  2. ^ "Defense Ministry's new compound to be officially opened Dec. 8". focustaiwan.tw. 5 December 2014.
  3. ^ "Defense minister raises flag at new ministry compound". focustaiwan.tw. 8 December 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Defense Ministry's new headquarters officially opens". cna.com.tw.
  5. ^ "Taipei military complex opened". taipeitimes.com. 28 December 2014.
  6. ^ "Difficult to set defense budget at 3% of GDP: premier - Politics - FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS". 7 June 2016.
  7. ^ Sharma, Yojana. "Universities to receive direct defence ministry funding". www.universityworldnews.com. University World News. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  8. ^ "MND Organization" (PDF). Ministry of National Defense, ROC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-12-31.
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