President Lai urges modern elite “steel” troops at defense university

President Lai Ching‑te today traveled to Taoyuan to attend the opening ceremony of the National Defense University Class 196 advanced education program for military officers, an itinerary that underscores his continued focus on defense talent cultivation and the armed forces’ modernization since taking office. Confronted with a rapidly shifting international geopolitical landscape and an increasingly severe military threat from across the strait, President Lai used the ceremony to present senior officers with a set of “Three Musts,” hoping that military cadres will not only refine tactics and skills but also enact profound reforms in strategic thinking and organizational culture, thereby forging an elite force equipped with modern combat capabilities and an international outlook.

The first “Must” stresses that military cadres must develop a macro‑level international strategic mindset. As the Indo‑Pacific becomes a contested arena of global geopolitics, security in the Taiwan Strait is no longer merely a bilateral issue but a pivotal node affecting the safety of the worldwide democratic camp and the vitality of global supply chains. President Lai noted that senior officers cannot limit themselves to a single service branch or a localized battlefield perspective; they must break out of traditional frameworks and consider Taiwan’s defense security within the broader global and regional strategic context. This entails a deeper understanding of allies’ strategic deployments, international legal norms, and the evolution of hybrid threats, enabling the armed forces to make judgments most favorable to national security in a rapidly changing environment.

The second “Must” focuses on acquiring new knowledge and daring to innovate. Recent conflicts such as the Russia‑Ukraine war and Middle‑East confrontations have upended conventional notions of military operations; unmanned systems, artificial intelligence, big‑data analytics, and asymmetric warfare capabilities have become decisive factors in modern wars. President Lai used this to urge the armed forces that, in an era of fast‑moving technology, military education and operational practice must keep pace. The military cannot cling to a status‑quo mindset; it must boldly absorb new knowledge and promote innovation in tactics, doctrine, and operational concepts. This demand echoes Taiwan’s recent push for an “asymmetric warfare” building philosophy—only through flexible, innovative, and cost‑effective force planning can the country achieve strategic deterrence despite unequal resources.

The third and final “Must” stresses the essential content of leadership, requiring officers to assume responsibility and build team trust. President Lai pointed out that modernizing defense is not merely about upgrading hardware; the “software” of leadership and unit cohesion is the foundation of combat effectiveness. As junior and mid‑level leaders confront challenges and reforms, they must demonstrate a spirit of accountability and the courage to take responsibility. At the same time, military leadership must be based on mutual trust, using transparent communication and leading by example to foster cohesion and morale among officers and soldiers. Only a strongly cohesive team can deliver peak performance at critical moments and fulfill the mission of defending the nation and its people.

The opening ceremony for the advanced education of military officers is not only a major academic event for the National Defense University this year, but also regarded as a key venue for senior government officials to convey the direction of defense policy. President Lai’s remarks essentially reflect the current national‑security team’s core anxieties and urgency regarding the armed forces’ transformation. Against the backdrop of the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing gray‑zone provocations and joint readiness patrols, Taiwan is actively implementing an overall defense concept. From restoring the mandatory service period to one year and reforming reserve combat capability, to emphasizing senior officers’ international strategic vision and innovation ability, a series of policies point toward a single core objective: comprehensively enhancing the armed forces’ combat readiness and modernization level.

Observing President Lai’s guidance, it is evident that Taiwan’s defense construction has entered a deep‑water phase that emphasizes “both soft and hard measures, and a shift in thinking.” Historically, the armed forces’ preparation focused more on procuring large traditional platforms and static defense, but under the pressure of modern technology and regional security dynamics, ideological innovation and talent development have been elevated to an unprecedented strategic height. The National Defense University, as the premier institution cultivating senior commanders and staff officers, bears the responsibility of steering the military’s intellectual transformation. Whether the officers who complete this training can translate the spirit of the “Three Musts” into daily training, operations, and unit management will be a crucial indicator of the effectiveness of the armed forces’ modernization and will affect Taiwan’s overall defense