Army Bases

The disposition of ROC Army forces on Tawain proper is undisclosed in the readily available public literature. About 80 percent of the Army's combat strength is on Taiwan proper, under the control of three field armies. The three offshore island commands -- Kinmen, Matsu, and Penghu -- have a total of more than 50,000 soldiers.

Small barracks are to be integrated with large ones. Barracks in cities should be moved away from the cities. With these ideas in mind, the MND is dealing with public and civilian lands now employed by the military as well as military lands used by non-military parties in accordance with the law to fully utilize national land resources. The MND is working on the organization and readiness of armed forces and is proceeding with comprehensive barracks planning and restructuring to enhance quality of life for servicemen while complying with laws and regulations, implementing policies professionally, and improving work efficiency.

The MND is devoted to bettering servicemen's lives on offshore islands and building new quarters above ground instead of underground and after completing overall planning, it will gradually restructure defense areas in line with budget schedules.

To alleviate burdens of managing and guarding barracks on basic troops, the MND is planning to finish in three phases checking and dealing with barracks now no longer in usage before the end of 2002. Listed barracks which are not in use and not designated to use will be returned or become non-public property and then be transferred to the National Property Bureau.

To satisfy the needs for political and economic construction and fully utilize national land resources, 173 hectares of 93 barracks were offered accordingly in 2000 and 2001. Barrack Shenying in Taipei became part of the Tanshui New Town. Barrack Changshu Bay in Taipei was transformed into a switchyard for high-speed rail service. Barrack Huwei in Yunlin is now employed by the National Taiwan University. The Taoyuan Tank Training Field was used for widening the West Coast Highway. Barrack Tuhsing in Hsinchu was allotted to the Science Park for the third phase of expansion. The Fengnien Airport in Taitung was reused by the Civil Aeronautics Administration for establishing a radar station. Barrack Chingwu in Kaohsiung was used for the development of the Kaohsiung New Town, and the Pintung Basic Military Training Center (BMTC) for the establishment of the Tapeng Bay Scenic Area. Currently, The Ilan Airport is being transferred to the National Tsing Hua University for school expansion.

By early 2004 the Reserve Command was reportedly activating 9 brigades. Among them, 902, 904, and 905 Brigades were activated on 04/06/2004 at Cheng Kung Ridge Military Base in Central Taiwan. The High Speed Rail [HSR] Tai-chung Station District is near Wangtien Interchange of #1 National Freeway and the area size is 117.774 M2. The west is Cheng Kung Ridge Military Base and the northwest side is adjacent to #1 National Freeway. On the other hand the Fa Tze Creek is running along the east and the Wu Creek is bordering on the south side. The Taichung HSR Commercial/Manufacturing Park, located in Wujih Township in Taichung County, is a major development center on the southwestern flank of the Greater Taichung area. Comprised of four comprehensively planned bases adjoining the Taiwan HSR, Taiwan Railway station, and MRT station, within close proximity to the freeway interchange and just 15 minutes by car from downtown Taichung, it is Greater Taichung's premium hub.

To speed up restructuring old barracks and improve quality of life for all servicemen, the MND is restructuring all barracks with comprehensive planning to attain the goal of fully-equipped, safe, comfortable, and easily maintained new barracks. The MND will continue to authorize architects from private sectors to plan and design and will supervise the construction work to integrate civilian manpower and resources into national defense construction.

Military construction will be carried out in accordance with the "Government Procurement Law" and relevant laws and regulations. The MND will authorize civilian companies to undertake military construction in an open, fair, and impartial manner to attract more professional architects and combine civilian experiences and expertise to further enhance quality of military construction.

In accordance with land redistribution operations in Kinmen and Matsu area, the MND is gradually restructuring defense areas now legally owned by the military to improve quality of life for servicemen on offshore islands. The first phase including the restructuring of ten places in Kinmen such as Barrack Tunghsiao and four places in Matsu such as Barrack Hsia Chih Ching was completed in 2000. These second-line bases are now in use. The second phase started in 2002. The MND continued to restructure Barrack Tungchou and Barrack Shanhou in Kinmen, and Barrack Huchu in Tungyin. The work is expected be finished in 2003.

A new office building of the Defense Ministry of Taiwan broke ground on 18 December 2003, at Dazhiyuan, the location of the former Army Force University of Taipei. The facility, which is expected to be finished by 2008, will be linked up with the "Hengshan command post" through two aboveground and underground passages, to facilitate wartime command and transfer. According to engineers, the building, located at the foot of a hill and in the opposite direction against attacks from fighters and missiles, while the "Hengshan command post" lies just next-door. The project, plus the original buildings, covers a total area of 19 hectares capable of accommodating 5,000-6,000 people working or living. The main building connects the island's "navy headquarters", "air force headquarters" and "Hengshan command post", forming a "national defense park" controlling the island's security, or the "Dazhi special military zone" in future.