The government of President Ma Ying-jeou in Taiwan has launched a revolution in military affairs that is intended to:

• rally the people of Taiwan to a firm defense of their island nation;

• give Taiwan's armed forces their marching orders for fundamental reforms;

• deter mainland China, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan, from invading the island;

• convince the U.S., Taiwan's only major ally, that Taiwan is prepared to do its part in defending itself.

Until now, some American, Chinese and Taiwanese analysts have questioned the political will of the people of Taiwan to defend themselves. Taiwan's armed forces have been seen as lethargic and not well organized. In contrast, China's armed forces have made steady strides in arms, training and preparing to invade Taiwan. And American leaders have muttered that Taiwan was not doing enough for its own defense.

In response to a directive from the national legislature, the Ministry of National Defense has recently published its first Quadrennial Defense Review that Minister Chen Chao-min said was to be a "roadmap for defense reform" and a guide to "a full-scale transformation."

In his foreword to the QDR, Chen noted that President Ma has opened a diplomatic dialogue with Beijing. Parallel with that, Chen suggested that reforming Taiwan's military services would deter "reckless actions" by China and would serve "as a solid buttress for the government in cross-strait negotiations."

Specifically, if the QDR reforms are implemented, civilian control of Taiwan's military forces will be enforced. That has not always been so; in the days of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, who led Taiwan from 1949 to 1975, and his son, Chiang Ching-kuo, who ruled until 1988, Taiwan's armed forces were largely autonomous.

A major reform will be setting up an elite, professional, volunteer force that will be slimmed down to 215,000 people by 2014 from the present 275,000. The draft, however, will be continued for all young men who will receive four months of basic training, then be required to join the reserves. Women may volunteer but will not be drafted.

The defense review asserts that "volunteer soldiers with longer service periods can achieve greater professionalism" than conscripts who leave after a year's service. Forging a volunteer force "is not only a revolution in military affairs but also an important plan for the nation's human resources." Pay and other incentives will be increased to attract volunteers.

The QDR calls for the national legislature to appropriate a minimum of 3 percent of gross domestic product annually on defense. Taiwan's defense spending has been steadily decreasing for 10 years to about 2 percent of GDP even though Taiwan's economy, like that of South Korea, has been expanding for several decades. By comparison, the United States spends about 4 percent of GDP for defense while Japan spends 1 percent.

Taiwan's defense review instructs the armed forces to adopt principles of "not provoking incidents, not escalating conflicts, and avoiding hostile actions" when confronted by Chinese forces. Taiwanese officers said, for instance, this would require Taiwan's fighter pilots to break off contact if they encountered Chinese fighters over the Taiwan Strait.

On the other hand, the QDR directs Taiwan's forces, mainly air and naval, to prepare to attack China's centers of gravity in the event of hostilities. That means attacking critical targets such as Chinese ports loading invasion troops, missile launch sites preparing to fire, and airfields loading paratroopers into transports.

In seeking to balance what might appear to be contradictory orders, the QDR says the principle is "preventing war but not fearing war and preparing for but not provoking war."

In a passage that could have been written by Sun Tzu, the Chinese strategic thinker who wrote 2,500 years ago, the QDR calls on Taiwan's citizens to "solidify national identity, cultivate patriotic integrity, and nurture honorable virtues." It directs the armed forces to "clarify military discipline, harness force solidarity, and consolidate a winning determination."

Richard Halloran, formerly with The New York Times as a correspondent in Asia and in Washington, is a writer in Honolulu.