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Taiwan to Outsource Guard Duties at Nine Military Academy Sites
Taiwan’s defence ministry will begin a pilot programme on September 1 that assigns private security firms to routine access control at five military academies. Four additional sites will join in January 2027, freeing troops for combat training while raising questions about contractor access.
Jul 13, 9:00 AM·1m read1 source
South China Morning PostAudio version
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Taiwan’s armed forces will start a pilot programme on September 1 that transfers routine guard duties at five military academy sites to private security firms, South China Morning Post reported. The first phase covers the National Defence University’s three campuses, the army’s military academy and the naval academy.
Guards hired under the contract will perform identity and vehicle checks, visitor registration and general access control.
Four more sites will join the programme on January 1, 2027: the Army Academy, two Air Force Institute of Technology campuses and Chung Cheng Armed Forces Preparatory School. The defence ministry said the two-stage rollout is intended to ease the military’s manpower burden and return troops to their units for combat training and core missions.
The ministry stated that the scheme will allow limited personnel to focus on combat missions rather than static security tasks.
South China Morning Post reported that the plan has prompted concerns that civilian contractors at entry points could create new security vulnerabilities, at a time when the Taiwanese government has reported a rise in espionage cases it links to Beijing.
