In the face of a volatile international situation, the Taiwan military should respond with innovative ideas, Ma said at a military workshop attended by 300 cadres at National Defense University in Taoyuan County.

The president said he hopes military cadres will change their concept of national defense at a time when the United States is attaching great importance to the emergence of China and those two countries are expected to forge closer ties.

Taiwan's current military preparedness focuses on preventing, not initiating, war, Ma said.

With the big changes in China's policy toward Taiwan over the past 30 years, the development of cross-Taiwan Strait relations was beyond Taiwan's control, he noted.

However, since the Taiwan government began efforts last year to improve relations with China, it seems that Taiwan's desire for a diplomatic truce is being observed by both sides and its ties with its 23 diplomatic allies remain solid, according to Ma.

He said Taiwan should undertake military reform, although the country is not under any immediate threat of war. The president directed the military to develop exchange programs that would allow military personnel to broaden their horizons through interaction with civil officials and foreign military officers.

Ma praised the troops for their rescue work in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot, one of the worst natural disasters to strike the country in half a century. An unprecedented 38,000 soldiers were mobilized for the typhoon rescue operations, a higher number than after the devastating Sept. 21, 1999 earthquake, he noted.

(By Chiu Chun-chin and Y.L. Kao)