Lieutenant General Zheng Zhenxiang (middle), commander of the Military Police Command, visited the visual guidance drone training site in the northern region to learn about the renovation planning and course design. (Photo: provided by the Military Police Command and Youth Daily)
[Reporter Luo Tianbin/Reporting from Taipei] Facing severe challenges such as the threat of the Communist Army's "decapitation war", the intensification of urban warfare, and the protection of the country's critical infrastructure, military officials confirmed today that the military police force responsible for central defense and capital garrison is undergoing the most significant continuous expansion in history. In addition to gradually doubling the overall strength of the gendarmerie from the original 5,600 to 11,000, in response to the needs of garrison tasks and adjustments to the force structure, this year the "air defense company" and the "unmanned aerial vehicle company" were officially added to the organization and establishment of the garrison area, aiming to develop an asymmetric combat force with high mobility, heavy firepower and "integrated reconnaissance and attack" capabilities.
The Military Police Command 202, which is responsible for the core garrison tasks in Greater Taipei, originally had six battalion-level units under its jurisdiction. In order to strengthen the defense line in the southern district of Taipei, the military has previously added an additional battalion-level unit to the Xinhai Camp in Wenshan District. At the same time, in order to build a more rigorous defense network, the 228th Battalion of the Military Police, which is stationed in Shilin District, Taipei City and is known as the "Gunxian", has officially added an "air defense company". This emerging force fully utilizes the US-made FIM-92 man-portable Stinger missiles (shoulder-launched short-range anti-aircraft missiles) to perform low-altitude air defense and anti-decapitation missions. It is also planned to be equipped with "Javelin anti-armor missiles", allowing the 228th Battalion, which originally operated mortars, to have the dual strike power of ground direct fire and low-altitude defense.
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The military police garrison has added an air defense company, and during the Han-Kuang exercises in the past two years, the Taipei MRT was used to conduct mobile rapid deployment exercises. Officers and soldiers carried man-portable Stinger missile launchers. (File photo)
In addition to the substantial improvement in air defense capabilities, the military has also simultaneously adjusted its organization and actively built and added "drone companies" for the military police units in the garrison. This adjustment is mainly based on the tactical planning of "integrated reconnaissance and combat, multi-layered defense" and the acquisition of "reconnaissance drones" and "attack cruise missiles (suicide drones)". In fierce urban battles in the future, military police officers and soldiers do not need to risk showing up. They can directly conduct street patrols through drones and even launch suicide precision strikes against enemy agents. In order to allow the newly established UAV company to immediately exert its combat effectiveness, the Military Police Training Center has integrated UAV operation and countermeasures subjects into the core curriculum in recent years, and has actively built exclusive training grounds.
Military officials said that in terms of overall tactical application, the newly formed military police units were organized into the "First Garrison Combat Team" in key areas such as the southern district of Taipei, and conducted battlefield intelligence networking with the Marine Corps 66th Brigade unit cooperating to guard Songshan Airport, as well as the peripheral Army Guandu Command, to guard traffic arteries and important government offices in the greater Taipei circle. In terms of equipment, the military police have made major upgrades. They plan to introduce American-made vehicle-mounted anti-drone systems, purchase Kestrel anti-armor missiles, and completely replace T112 rifles and smart sights. In the recent Han Kuang Exercise and Shen Gong Exercise, the military police also joined forces with the local police and the Taipei MRT to implement rapid troop maneuvers in the MRT underground passage. Stinger missile live ammunition fired accurately hit the target, verifying the actual combat capabilities.
However, the military also admitted frankly that the overall staffing ratio of the national army volunteers has faced great challenges in recent years. How the military police force can make up for the manpower gap of about 5,000 people and ensure that volunteers who operate professional new weapons can be retained for a long time will be the focus of continuous overcoming and promotion in the future.
