ng Kong 11, Indonesia 2, Italy 13, Kiribati 5, Liberia 91,
Marshall Islands 1, Panama 320, Philippines 1, Sierra Leone 1,
Singapore 72, Thailand 1, UK 11, unknown 3) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Chilung (Keelung), Kaohsiung, Taichung

Military
Taiwan

Military branches:

Army, Navy (includes Marine Corps), Air Force, Coast Guard
Administration, Armed Forces Reserve Command, Combined Service
Forces Command, Armed Forces Police Command

Military service age and obligation:

19-35 years of age for male compulsory military service; service
obligation 14 months (reducing to 1 year in 2009) year; women may
enlist; women in Air Force service are restricted to noncombat
roles; reserve obligation to age 30 (Army); the Ministry of Defense
has announced plans to implement an incremental voluntary enlistment
system beginning 2010, with 10% fewer conscripts each year
thereafter, although nonvolunteers will still be required to perform
alternative service or go through 3-4 months of military training
(2008)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 6,283,134
females age 16-49: 6,098,599 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 5,112,737
females age 16-49: 5,036,346 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 164,883
female: 152,085 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

2.2% of GDP (2006)

Transnational Issues
Taiwan

Disputes - international:

involved in complex dispute with China, Malaysia, Philippines,
Vietnam, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002
"Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has
eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of
conduct" desired by several of the disputants; Paracel Islands are
occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam; in 2003, China
and Taiwan became more vocal in rejecting both Japan's claims to the
uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's
unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea
where all parties engage in hydrocarbon prospecting

Illicit drugs:

regional transit point for heroin, methamphetamine, and precursor
chemicals; transshipment point for drugs to Japan; major problem
with domestic consumption of methamphetamine and heroin; rising
problems with use of ketamine and club drugs

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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