Republic of China Army
The Republic of China Army also known as the ROC Army ; colloquially the Taiwanese Army by western or mainland Chinese media, or commonly referred as the National Military by local Taiwanese people, is the largest branch of Taiwan's military, the Republic of China Armed Forces.
An estimated 80% of the ROCA is based on the Main Island of Taiwan, while the remainder are stationed on the Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, Dongsha, and Taiping Islands. This branch was also referred to historically as the Chinese Army and the Nationalist Chinese Army during and after World War II and the 1949 retreat.
Since the Chinese Civil War, no armistice or peace treaty has ever been signed between the Republic of China regime and the communist regime, so as the final line of defense against a possible invasion by the People's Liberation Army, the primary focus of the ROCA is on defense and counterattack against amphibious assault and urban warfare.
Organization
The ROC Army's current operational strength includes three armies, five corps. As of 2005, the Army's 35 brigades include 25 infantry brigades, five armoured brigades and three mechanized infantry brigades. All infantry brigades stood down and transferred to Reserve Command after 2005.This update reflects the ROCA order of battle at the conclusion of the Jinjing Restructuring Plan in 2008.
A new type of unit called defense team is being introduced. These are formed by elements of de-activated brigades under each area defense command. The strength of a defense team may vary from one or more reinforced battalions, making it roughly equal to a regiment. The team CO is usually a full colonel.
In the event of war most of the high command would retreat to underground bunkers, tunnel complexes, and command posts.
Republic of China Army Command Headquarters
- Armed Force Reserve Command
Ranks
Commissioned officer ranks
The rank insignia of commissioned officers.Other ranks
The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.Training
The Republic of China Military Academy, established in 1924, trains officers for the army in a four-year collegiate course of study, after which they graduate with an officer's commission and a bachelor's degree.In 2025 the Army opened a dedicated unmanned aerial vehicle training center. The center is located in Tainan and offers training to both operational and support personal.
History
The Army of the Nationalist Chinese regime
The Republic of China Army originated from the National Revolutionary Army of the Nationalist Chinese regime, which was founded by Sun Yat-sen's Kuomintang in 1924, when the Whampoa Military Academy was established with Soviet military assistance.Whampoa Military Academy, which was presided by Chiang Kai-shek, was tasked with the objective of training a professional Chinese revolutionary army to unify China during the Warlord Era. It participated in the Northern Expedition, the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War before withdrawing of the ROC government to Taiwan in 1949.
Retreat to Taiwan
After 1949, the ROC Army has participated in combat operations on Kinmen and the Dachen Archipelago against the PLA in the Battle of Kuningtou, and in the First and Second Taiwan Strait Crisis. In addition to these major conflicts, ROCA commandos were regularly sent to raid the Fujian and Guangdong coasts. Until the 1970s, the stated mission of the Army was to retake the mainland from the People's Republic of China. Following the lifting of martial law in 1987 and the democratization of the 1990s, the mission of the ROC Army has been shifted to the defense of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu from a PLA invasion.Modern Era
With the reduction of the size of the ROC armed forces in recent years, the Army has endured the largest number of cutbacks as ROC military doctrine has begun to emphasize the importance of offshore engagement with the Navy and Air Force. Subsequent to this shift in emphasis, the ROC Navy and Air Force have taken precedence over the ROC Army in defense doctrine and weapons procurement. Recent short-term goals in the Army include acquisition and development of joint command and control systems, advanced attack helicopters and armored vehicles, multiple launch rocket system and field air defense systems. The Army is also in the process of transitioning to an all volunteer force.During the COVID-19 pandemic Army chemical warfare units were used to disinfect public areas and to do spot disinfections around known disease clusters. In January 2021 the 33rd Chemical Warfare Group was deployed to Taoyuan City to deal with a cluster of infections around a hospital there.
Equipment
From the 1990s onwards, the Republic of China Army launched several upgrade programmes to replace outdated equipment with more advanced weapons, also increasing its emphasis on forces that could be rapidly deployed and were suited for combat in Taiwan's heavily urbanized environment. Orders were placed with the United States for M60A3 Patton tanks, M109A5 "Paladin" howitzers and AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopters, as well as updating existing equipment.Along with the other ROC military branches, the ROC Army has extensive experience in the construction and utilization of tunnels and bases gained during the People's Republic of China's bombardments of Kinmen and Matsu during the Cold War and many facilities are rumoured to be located underground in undisclosed locations.
The U.S. Government announced on October 3, 2008, that it plans to sell $6.5 billion worth of arms to Taiwan ending the freeze of arms sales to Taiwan. Amongst other things, the plans include $2.532 billion worth of 30 AH-64D Apache Longbow Block III Attack helicopters with night-vision sensors, radar, 173 Stinger Block I air-to-air missiles and 1000 AGM-114L Hellfire missiles. and 182 Javelin missiles will also be available with 20 Javelin command launchers and is estimated to cost $47 million.
On January 29, 2010, US Government announced 5 notifications to US Congress for arms sales to Taiwan. Of the total 6.392 billion US dollars in the 5 announcements, ROC Army will receive 60 UH-60M and other related things for cost of 3.1 Billion.
Aviation Assets
In July 2007 it was reported that the ROC Army would request the purchase of 30 AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters from the US in the 2008 defence budget. In October 2015 it was announced that 9 AH-64E had been grounded due to oxidation of components in the helicopters' tail rotor gearboxes and comprehensive safety checks were made on all Apaches. The 2008 defense budget also listed a request for 60 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters as a partial replacement for the UH-1Hs currently in service.Main battle tanks
As of 2019, the ROC army has 480 M60A3s, 450 CM11s, and 250 CM12s. The design and technology used in the tanks date back to the 1940s and 1950s, including their 105mm rifled gun and utilizing traditional steel armor plating rather than composite materials used in modern armored fighting vehicles. It is expected that the majority of the ROC Army's armored units would continue to be equipped with legacy tanks in upgraded form after the army acquires the newer modern tanks. As of 2015, some CM11 tanks are observed to be upgraded with explosive reactive armor around the turret and hull.In October 2017, Taiwan announced an upgrade program for 450 M60A3s consisting of replacing the main gun with a new 120 mm weapon, as well as upgrading the ballistics computer, turret hydraulics, and other systems. Testing and evaluation are expected to be completed in 2019 and application of new features to start in 2020. However, in July 2018 the Ministry of National Defense renewed its interest in acquiring Abrams, and had set aside US$990 million to purchase 108 M1A2s while modernization of existing M60A3s in service continues.
On June 7, 2019, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense confirmed that Taiwan has signed a $2 billion weapons deal with the Trump administration, which includes a purchase of 108 M1A2T Abrams battle tanks. Taiwanese defense officials intend to use the M1A2T Abrams battle tank to replace its army's M60A3 and M48H CM11 tanks. On July 8, 2019, the U.S. State Department approved the sale of new M1A2T Abrams tanks to Taiwan despite criticism and protest of the deal from the People's Republic of China. The deal includes 122 M2 Mounted Machine Guns, 216 M240 machine guns, 14 M88A2 HERCULES vehicles, and 16 M1070A1 Heavy Equipment Transporters. General Dynamics Land Systems will build the tanks at Anniston Army Depot, Alabama, and at Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, Ohio. The final signing of the Letter of Offer and Acceptance was confirmed on December 21, 2019. The tanks represent the first sale of new tanks to the ROC Army in decades from the US. Surplus M1A1 tanks were previously rejected by previous US administrations, including George W. Bush in 2001. Current ROC tanks include used M60A3 tanks and locally manufactured M48 tanks in which the initial variants were first produced between the 1950s and 1960s. The first batch of 38 tanks were received on December 16, 2024, with the remaining tanks to be delivered in two more batches, the second one in 2025 and the final one in 2026.
Some criticisms were made of these M1 Abrams purchases, some analysts expressed that Taiwan's terrain and some of its bridges and roads are unsuitable for the 60-tonne M1A2. However, Taiwan's current tanks have older 105-millimeter rifled guns that may not be able to readily penetrate the frontal armor of modern People's Liberation Army Type 96 and Type 99 tanks, which can easily penetrate the Patton's old-fashioned steel armor with their smoothbore 125mm ZPT-98 main gun. The M1A2T tank's 120mm gun is capable of destroying PLA tanks without reliance on anti-tank missiles. Moreover, tanks can be used as mobile reserves for counterattacks against PLA beach landings, which was successful during the Battle of Guningtou. ROC Army Chief of Staff, Yang Hai-ming, said that China's best tank, the heavy Type 99 tank, would not be able to be transported in an amphibious invasion during a potential war with Taiwan and the PLA would have to rely on the much lighter 20-ton Type 63A tanks. Due to this logistics issue for the PLA there is less concern about the M1A2T tanks having to deal with China's most modern tanks during an amphibious invasion.