Defense News

Time: 10:30 on October 9, 2025

One.Subject of Press Conference: Publication of the R.O.C. NATIONAL DEFENSE REPORT 2025

Two.Chairperson: Director General of the Administration Office, MND, Lieutenant General SUN LI-FANG

Three.Attendees:
I.Director General of the Administration Office, MND, Lieutenant General SUN LI-FANG
II.Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, Mr. LIU FENG-YU
III.Deputy Director of the Dept./ Strategic Planning, Major General HO CHEN-HSIANG
IV.Chief of the Defense Policy Division, Dept./ Strategic Planning, Ms. HSU YUN-CHEN
V.Chief of the Military Force Planning Division, Dept./Strategic Planning, Major General WENG YU-HENG
VI.Chief of the Strategic Analysis Division, Dept./Strategic Planning, Rear- Admiral LIU WEN-CHING
VII.Chief of the Armament Organization Division, Dept./Strategic Planning, Major General CHANG CHIH-WEI
VIII.Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the ROCN Command HQ, Rear- Admiral HONG-FENG HE
IX.Deputy Chief of the Military Force Planning Group, ROCN Command HQ, Captain YUAN CHUNG-FENG
X.Chief of the Planning Division, Military Police Command, Colonel LIN HONG-JIE
XI.Deputy Chief of the Personnel Planning Division, DCGS/ Personnel, Colonel LIN LONG-HSIANG
XII.Chief of the Talent Cultivation Division, DCGS/ Personnel, Major General FU CHENG-JUNG
XIII.Deputy Chief of the Intelligence Research Center, DCGS/Intelligence, Colonel PAN CHUN-GUANG
XIV.Deputy Chief of the Joint Operations Division, DCGS/Operations and Planning, Colonel HSU CHIH-HONG
XV.Chief of the Logistics Division, DCGS/Logistics, Major General CHEN YI-CHIH
XVI.Deputy Chief of the Cyber Warfare and Readiness Division, DCGS/Communications, Electronics and Information, Colonel CHANG KO-CHIN
XVII.Deputy Chief of the Military Training Division, DCGS/Communications, Electronics and Information, Colonel CHAO TE-HONG
XVIII.Chief of the Technology Planning Division, Dept./Resource Planning, Mr. WEI MU-CHU
XIX.Deputy Chief of the Human Resource Division, Dept./Resource Planning, Captain HSIEH MING-FENG
XX.Chief of the Financial Resource Division, Dept./Resource Planning, Rear- Admiral KAO CHIH-HSIUNG
XXI.Chief of the Manpower Mobilization Division, All-out Defense Mobilization Agency, Major General WU KUO-LIANG
XXII.Chief of the Planning and Statistics Division, Comptroller Bureau, Colonel YEN MING-TE
XXIII.Chief of the Acquisition Management Division, Armaments Bureau, Major General LEE PENG-HSIAO
XXIV.Deputy Chief of the Engineering Production Division, Armaments Bureau, Colonel CHEN CHIA-YANG
XXV.Deputy Director of the Dual-Use Technology Development Center, NCSIST, Mr. WU YU-LONG
XXVI.Chief of the Military Legal Affairs Division, Dept./Legal Affairs, Major General WU CHUN-HSIEN
XXVII.Senior Chief of the Net Assessment Division, Dept./Integrated Assessment, Mr. SHIH CHI-LIANG
XXVIII.Deputy Chief of the Pattern Simulation Division, Dept./Integrated Assessment, Colonel YEH SHIH-CHING
XXIX.Acting Deputy Director of the Medical Affairs Bureau, Colonel WANG YU-CHI
XXX.Chief of the General Political Warfare Division, Political Warfare Bureau, Colonel LAN FENG
XXXI.Chief of the Procurement Management Division, Defense Procurement Office, Colonel YU TSUNG-HSUEH
XXXII.Senior Chief of the Administrative Inspection Division, Inspector General’s Office, Ms. CHEN CHUEH-TZU
XXXIII.Senior Specialist of the Ethics Office, Mr. CHANG HSIANG-CHUNG
XXXIV.Division Chief of the Personnel Office, Mr. WU TAI-JUNG
XXXV.Senior Director of the National Military Museum Preparatory Office, Administration Office, Ms. YANG HSIEN-FEI

Four.Press Conference Notes
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) held a press conference today (October 9) for the publication of the R.O.C. NATIONAL DEFENSE REPORT 2025.
I.Compilation Overview
In accordance with Article 30 of the National Defense Act, the MND periodically publishes a National Defense Report based on national objectives, the general international situation, military conditions, defense policy, the development of armed forces, combat readiness, defense resources and their utilization, as well as overall national defense.
II.Content Summary
This edition is centered on the theme of “An agile and resilient armed forces defending the nation resolutely.” Its content is based on the President’s national security concept of “Four pillars for peace and prosperity,” focusing on building agile and responsive combat capabilities, strengthening whole-of-society defense resilience, safeguarding the nation through strength, and ensuring peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
The report is divided into four parts and eight chapters: “Strategic Environment,” “Solid Defense,” “Pillars of Peace,” and “Defense Management.” It explains the current situation in the Indo-Pacific region and the security challenges that Taiwan is facing. The report further describes how the armed forces, through innovative thinking and approaches, are building asymmetric and resilient combat capabilities while upholding the concept of “preventing war through preparedness.” The military is committed to rigorous training and comprehensive readiness efforts, fostering nationwide defense resolve and strengthening society’s overall resilience to achieve the goals of preventing conflict and preserving peace. A summary of each part is as follows:
(I)The First Part: Strategic Environment
1.Describing how the ongoing strategic competition between the United States and China, coupled with the rapid expansion of China’s military power and its frequent use of gray-zone coercion tactics, has created military threats to neighboring countries and further destabilized the situation across the Taiwan Strait.
2.The strategic developments of countries within the region are focused on increasing defense budgets, accelerating armament investments, and strengthening self-defense capabilities to ensure national security and the protection of their interests.
3.As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan makes effective use of its geostrategic advantages to exert its key influence, strengthen its defense capabilities and resilience, and enhance security cooperation with democratic nations, with an aim to be a trusted security partner for countries in the region and to contribute to regional peace and stability.
(II)The Second Part: Solid Defense
1.In accordance with the Constitution, the National Defense Act, and the President’s national security vision, the R.O.C. Armed Forces carefully assessed the overall strategic environment and formulated five national defense strategic objectives: “Enhance defense capabilities and strengthen overall resilience,’’ “Innovate defense affairs and improve organizational effectiveness,’’ “Promote defense self-reliance and create mutually beneficial outcomes,’’ “Support disaster prevention and response to safeguard people’s well-being,’’ “Reinforce strategic cooperation to jointly maintain regional peace.’’ These objectives are the guiding principles for national defense policy, force development, and combat readiness, with the goal of building a solid national defense capable of ensuring the nation’s security.
2.Under the military strategic guidance of “solid defense and layered deterrence,” the R.O.C. Armed Forces are shaping operational readiness around “multi-domain denial and resilient defense.” This approach emphasizes agile, rapid readiness responses, asymmetric tactics, decentralized operations, and strategies to degrade the adversary, with the aim of building dependable combat power that can effectively deter and repel enemy incursions.
3.At the same time, the R.O.C. Armed Forces are dedicated to force development and combat preparedness, strengthening resilience through realistic, combat-oriented training, enhancing joint operational effectiveness, improving reserve force capabilities, and bolstering overall defense operations to resolutely safeguard the nation.
(III)The Third Part: Pillars of Peace
1.In line with the President’s national security concept of “Four pillars for peace and prosperity,” the R.O.C. Armed Forces continue to engage in defense and security cooperation with the United States and other allied nations. The Republic of China (Taiwan) is strengthening and building democratic partnerships to collectively enhance deterrence through military exchanges, collaboration with international think tanks, and promotion of soft power, while striving to be a cornerstone of peace in the region with a spirit of responsibility.
2.In peacetime, the R.O.C. Armed Forces utilize military resources to support local governments in disaster prevention and relief operations, safeguarding the people’s safety and maintaining social stability. At the same time, efforts are made to promote whole-of-society defense resilience, strengthen mobilization preparedness, and enhance civil-military integration mechanisms, working together with the government to build a secure, stable, and resilient homeland.
3.The R.O.C. Armed Forces continue to strengthen strategic communication efforts: they foster patriotism and public awareness of external threats in domestic domain while enhance international outreach and communication abroad. Through close cooperation, the military works to safeguard national security and defend the democratic and free way of daily life.
(IV)The Fourth Part: Defense Management
1.The R.O.C. Armed Forces manage personnel, material and financial resources to allocate national defense assets appropriately, striving to advance defense self-reliance projects. Through the Defense Innovation Organization (DIO), innovative technologies and off-the-shelf equipment are introduced to enhance capabilities. The military also works to eliminate formalism in unit management, optimize defense budgeting, strengthen logistics management, deepen all-out national defense awareness, stabilize defense manpower, and enhance inspection and oversight effectiveness, thereby reinforcing overall national defense capabilities.
2.Human resources are always the most valuable asset of the R.O.C. Armed Forces. With the goal of achieving “safe unit, stable service members, and comfortable families,” the military continuously promotes measures to care for personnel and their dependents. These efforts include creating a high-quality service environment, providing mental health and counseling support, protecting service members’ rights and benefits, implementing welfare and care programs, and enhancing the military healthcare system to strengthen overall force well-being. Through these initiatives, service members can maintain both training effectiveness and quality of life, allowing them to focus on combat readiness and ensure unit combat capability.
III.Distribution Ways
(I)Physical Book
The physical books will be provided to government agencies and military units (including overseas missions) for reference, as well as to universities, colleges, and high schools (including vocational schools) for use as national defense education materials and academic reference resources, thereby expanding its usefulness. In addition, the physical books will be available for public purchase at designated government publication bookstores (ex. the Government Books Store and Wunan Books.)
(II)Digital File
At the end of the physical books, readers can scan a QR code to download the digital file. Additionally, a download link will be available in the “R.O.C. NATIONAL DEFENSE REPORT 2025” section on the official website of MND, allowing the public to access and download the electronic version of the report.