Taiwan is now indisputably the centre of the airsoft industry. It is where most of the leading airsoft companies are based and it probably has the most exporters of airsoft products. From the major airsoft brands to the boutique shops making accessories and unique airsoft tech, Taiwan has a lot to offer to the global airsoft community.

Whilst most of the airsoft companies have looked to markets overseas in their expansion to dominate the airsoft market, they are experiencing an increase in their local market.

Jolted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more and more civilians are taking up tactical training for fears that a China invasion of the island will become a reality. The threat has been there ever since the KMT left Mainland China for Taiwan as the CCP took power, but never has the threat been so real given that the communists have built a formidable navy and air force that can rival the U.S.A. Some analysts say it’s just a matter of time that Chinese communists will mount an invasion. If Russian conquers Ukraine, then its main partner in Asia will be emboldened to invade the island.

Taiwan has a mandatory 2-year military service for men and with transition to all volunteer military, young men only need to complete four months of military service and it is hard to find recruits. According to a report on LATimes, those who went through the mandatory military service consider it to be just a waste of time with mainly consisting of chores and paperwork with less time to being proficient in firearms and maneouvers. The government to Taiwan is now working on a plan to meet the present challenges.

There are proposals of adopting the Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine model or even the Swiss model.

But with the War in Ukraine, the LATimes also reports that polls show an increasing number of civilians willing to defend the island with an expectation that they will be doing most of the fighting rather than depend on the U.S. which did not send troops to help defend Ukraine and instead is sending more modern weaponry for the country to defend itself and take back lost territory.

Even if President Biden clearly said that the U.S. will defend Taiwan in case it is attacked, the Taiwan Relations Act, which supplanted the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty that expired in 1980, does not promise Taiwan direct military assistance in case it gets invaded.

Tactical and self defense training groups in Taiwan are experiencing an increase of people taking up their training courses which mainly use airsoft as training weapons given strict gun ownership laws. This is also in line with the increase of people taking up training in countries that bordering Russia such as Finland and the Baltic states. They see it as a good foundation for further military training in case they get called up to serve. At least they get the basics and motivation to serve with their airsoft experience whether as airsoft players or airsoft IDPA shooters.

As an island, Taiwan will need to rely on naval, aerial, and coastal defenses to repel an invasion and that means investing in a lot of missiles and developing drone technologies. But if an invading army is able to hit the beaches and go inland, then that’s where the army comes in and a large armed and trained civilian population giving support to the effort. With a larger number of reserves of trained people, then it may make the invaders to think twice.   

Hat tip to Stu “Stewbacca” Mortimer for this story and for supplying the COMP - IDPA Taiwan National Match 2021 seen in the top photo.