| Chapter 1 General Principles |
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| Article 1 | The National Defense Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) is drafted pursuant to Article 137 [MND1]of the Constitution of the Republic of China. Conditions not stipulated under the Act are subject to other relevant laws. |
| Article 2 | The national defense of the Republic of China is aimed at utilization of comprehensive national power to establish national defense military force, to assist disaster prevention and rescue, safeguard national security and maintain world peace. |
| Article 3 | The national defense of the Republic of China is of all-out national defense, involving affairs pertaining to military, civil defense, implementation of disaster prevention and rescue, and those in political, society, economic, psychological and technological domains, which may directly or indirectly contribute to the national defense. |
| Article 4 | The national defense military force of the Republic of China consists of army, navy and air force. In wartime, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) may call up other legalized armed units to participate in the order of battle after the permission is granted by the Executive Yuan. |
| Article 5 | The Republic of China Army, Navy and Air Force (ROC Armed Forces) shall abide by the Constitution of the Republic of China, swear allegiance to the nation, protect the people, and perform assigned duties in order to ensure national security. |
| Article 6 | The ROC Armed Forces shall remain neutral from individual, regional and party affiliations in accordance with the Act. Active servicemen are forbidden to undertake the following activities:
1. Assuming positions offered by political parties, political groups and electoral candidates.
2. Forcing active servicemen to join or help political parties, political groups, and electoral candidates.
3. Establishing within military units to promote partisan spheres, party platforms and other propaganda activities.
Any violation in this regard is subject to the MND's disposition by law. |
| Chapter 2 System and Responsibility of National Defense |
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| Article 7 | The national defense is structured as follows:
1. President
2. National Security Council
3. Executive Yuan
4. MND |
| Article 8 | The President shall assume the supreme command of army, navy, and air force of the ROC, and is the commander-in-chief of the ROC Armed Forces. He exerts executive authority over the Minister of National Defense, and the Chief of the General Staff (CGS) follows the command of the Minister to lead the ROC Armed Forces. |
| Article 9 | In order to decide major defense policies and guidelines relating to national security or in response to urgent defense situations, the President may convene the National Security Council. |
| Article 10 | The Executive Yuan is responsible for formulation of defense policies, consolidation of overall national power and supervision of its subordinate agencies to conduct relevant defense affairs. |
| Article 11 | The MND is in charge of overall national defense affairs, shall well perform its policy, command, and armament functions. Besides, it shall submit suggestions in defense policies and formulates military strategies accordingly |
| Article 12 | The position of the Minister of National Defense is of civilian official nature, and he or she shall assume the authority over the overall national defense affairs. |
| Article 13 | The MND has under it the General Staff Headquarters (GSH), serving as the staff organization of command system, and command mechanism of joint operations to the Minister. The GSH is headed by the CGS, who is in charge of military affairs of command system, and assumes the authority to command the ROC Armed Forces under the order of the Minister. |
| Article 14 | Military affairs regarding force command are as follows：
1. Personnel management and service of the forces.
2. Gathering and analysis of military intelligence.
3. Planning and implementation of the operation plans.
4. Deployment and training of the forces.
5. Preparation and implemention of mobilization of the forces.
6. Formulation of military doctrine and research and development(R＆D) of combat activities.
7. Allocation and utilization of military personnel, equipment and supplies.
8. Planning and implemention of communications, information and electronic warfare.
9. Implementation of political warfare.
10. Supervision over tactics and techniques
11. Implementation of disaster prevention and rescue.
12. Other military affairs related to forces command. |
| Chapter 3 Obligations and Rights of Servicemen |
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| Article 15 | Active servicemen shall receive rigorous military training to observe military regulations, maintain strict discipline, obey orders, keep military secrets, and accomplish assigned missions. |
| Article 16 | Active servicemen shall receive due respect for their status; their salaries, insurance, compensation, welfare, award/penalty, and other rights shall be stipulated by law. |
| Article 17 | Education, commission, length of service, assignment, and merit evaluation of officers and non-commissioned officers (NGOs) of the ROC Armed Forces shall be stipulated by law. |
| Article 18 | The rights and benefits for active servicemen, their dependents, and reserves shall be protected by law. |
| Article 19 | The rights of servicemen shall be legally protected when infringed by unlawful or unjust treatments. |
| Chapter 4 Preparedness of National Defense |
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| Article 20 | The MND shall, in accordance with an overall military strategy and long-term defense planning of military policies, discreetly formulate the defense budget to meet the force restructuring objectives and military administration plans. |
| Article 21 | The scale of the national defense force shall be determined in accordance with national security requirements, and may be fulfilled according to related conscription laws. In order to maintain a robust reserve force, reservists shall be called upon in peacetime, and receive necessary training by law. |
| Article 22 | Government agencies under the Executive Yuan shall follow national defense policies to consolidate efforts of the private sector to develop defense technology industries. Acquisition of weapon equipment shall firstly consider those built domestically. When it is necessary to pursue outsourcing channels, the acquisition activities shall realize technology transfer policy so as to establish an autonomous national defense infrastructure.
The MND may cooperate or mutually entrust with domestic or foreign, and public or private corporate bodies to implement R&D, production, maintenance and selling of defense technological products.
In order to develop defense technology industries and their relevant corporate bodies, the MND may entrust the private sector with the management of the MND's subordinate R&D, production and maintenance infrastructures and their relevant facilities.
Above-mentioned two conditions will be stipulated by law. |
| Article 23 | In line with national security requirements, the Executive Yuan may authorize the establishment of emergent or secret defense infrastructures or facilities, and governmental agencies at all levels shall cooperate with such a decision. If the above-mentioned infrastructures or facilities affect citizen's livelihood, the Legislative Yuan may, through its resolutions, request the Executive Yuan direct the MND to undertake relevant improvements or alternations. Any infringement to citizen's rights shall be compensated by law. |
| Chapter 5 All-out Defense |
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| Article 24 | In line with national defense requirements, the president may promulgate emergency decrees in accordance with the Constitution to specify mobilization tasks, and enforce overall or partial mobilization. |
| Article 25 | In peacetime, the Executive Yuan may designate relevant agencies to formulate required quantities of material in storage, draw up mobilization preparation plans and conduct mobilization exercises. During such exercises, the Executive Yuan may impose requisition of private assets and their operators. Such requisition shall be compensated according to the relevant laws.
The above-mentioned mobilization preparations, material in storage, exercises, requisition, and compensation procedures shall be stipulated accordingly by law. |
| Article 26 | The Executive Yuan shall designate specified agencies to manage affairs pertaining to mobilization and its preparations. |
| Article 27 | In order to realize all-out defense, safeguard the people and their properties, the Executive Yuan may establish civil defense organizations to offer civil defense trainings or implement exercises in accordance with the Law. Such organizations may in peacetime participate in disaster prevention or medical activities, and in wartime support military missions. |
| Article 28 | In order to realize all-out defense, safeguard the people and their properties, the Executive Yuan may establish civil defense organizations to offer civil defense trainings or implement exercises in accordance with the Law. Such organizations may in peacetime participate in disaster prevention or medical activities, and in wartime support military missions. |
| Article 29 | Central and local governments shall promote defense education for citizens to increase their defense knowledge and awareness to safeguard the nation, and according to respective authority draw up plans actively to utilize human, material, financial and other kinds of resources needed in defense activities |
| Chapter 6 National Defense Report |
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| Article 30 | The MND shall periodically submit the National Defense Report in order to elaborate national goals, general international situations, military situations, defense policy, restructuring of the armed forces, combat readiness status, utilization of defense resources and the implementation of all-out defense. If national defense policy encounters major changes, the MND shall submit the report in due time. |
| Article 31 | The MND shall periodically submit reports pertaining to military policy, combat readiness status, and armament status.
To increase the efficiency of the defense budget deliberation process, the MND shall compile annul reports on the Chinese Communist Party’s military strength, ROC five year’s military strength construction and administrative plan to be submitted along with its general budget statement to the Legislative Yuan.
The reports as referred to in the preceding two Paragraphs may be categorized into two versions, classified and open ones.
The MND shall, within ten months after each presidential inauguration, publicly submit the Quadrennial Defense Review to the Legislative Yuan. |
| Chapter 7 Supplementary Provisions |
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| Article 32 | Military secrets shall be duly protected by law. Military secrets shall be classified, and the classification system and the period for declassification shall be regulated by law. Any personnel involved in national defense and security affairs shall be legally investigated. The contents and procedures of such investigation shall be decided by the MND. |
| Article 33 | Based on the principle of autonomy and mutual respect, the Republic of China may establish military-to-military cooperative relations or sign treaties or agreements with friendly nations to jointly maintain world peace. |
| Article 34 | When friendly nations dispatch forces or military personnel in the ROC territories, their rights and obligations, and other relevant matters shall be regulated by treaties or agreements between both sides. Foreign nationals, upon approval granted by the MND and the Ministry of Interior, may serve in the Republic of China Armed Forces. |
| Article 35 | Actual date to implement the Act is decided by the Executive Yuan within three years after the Act is promulgated. |