Taiwan’s new military outsourcing plan: a pragmatic fix or security risk?

Taiwan’s armed forces plan to outsource guard duties at military academies to private security firms in a pilot programme aimed at freeing up limited personnel for core combat missions. But the plan has triggered concerns that handing frontline access to civilian contractors could create new security vulnerabilities as the island grapples with a rise in espionage cases that the Taiwanese government claims are linked to Beijing. Under the two-stage programme, private guards will take over rout...

By Lawrence Chung