The reduction is part of a five-year plan aimed at trimming the size of Taiwan`s armed forces by 60,000, or more than 20 percent from the present level of 275,000 troops.
But the defence ministry said the island`s defensive capabilities would not be undermined as it seeks more high-tech and powerful weapons.
"The era of maintaining a huge number of forces has gone. Defence capability is no longer determined by the number of troops," the ministry`s acting spokesman Lo Shau-ho told AFP.
Taiwan`s relatively large army is a legacy of decades of tensions with China, which still regards the island as part of its territory since the two sides split at the end of a civil war in 1949.
However, ties have improved dramatically since Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang party came to power in 2008 promising to boost cross-strait trade and tourism.
China`s own military budget is set to rise nearly 13 percent to 601.1 billion yuan ($91.7 billion) this year, officials said Friday, while stressing that the mainland wants to modernise its armed forces for defensive duties.
But China`s build-up is widely seen by analysts as geared in large part at reclaiming Taiwan. Taiwanese experts say China has more than 1,600 missiles aimed at the self-ruled island.
Despite the easing of tensions with Taiwan`s giant neighbour, Ma says the island needs to maintain sufficient self-defence while pressing for dialogue with Beijing.
In January 2010, the US government announced a weapons package for Taiwan that includes Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and equipment for Taiwan`s F-16 fleet, but no submarines or new fighter aircraft.
Beijing reacted angrily to the arms deal, saying it would cut military and security contacts with the United States. But Ma`s government continues to press Washington for an improved version of the F-16 fighter. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
