Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has announced that the mandatory military service will be extended from four months to one year. The decision comes amid growing tensions with China, which claims the autonomous islands as its territory. At a press conference on Tuesday, President Tsai announced a new plan to bolster Taiwan’s defenses against attacks from Beijing. “Peace will never fall from the sky…Taiwan is at the forefront of authoritarian expansion,” she said. President Tsai said the conscripts would also borrow some elements from the United States and other advanced militaries and receive more intensive training. She said the island’s current defense system is one of the largest and most It was not enough to withstand an attack from China, which has one of the most advanced militaries, he added.
Taiwan’s military has been shrinking since the early 1990s when all men over the age of 18 were required to serve up to three years in the military. Over the next few decades, his service was reduced to one year and ten months, and he was further reduced to four months. The new regulations will come into effect in January 2024. In the same month, Taiwan will elect its next president. “This is a very difficult decision, but as president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, it is my unavoidable duty to protect our national interests and our democratic way of life,” Tsai said. “No one wants war. Taiwan and the people of Taiwan are the same, and so is the international community,” she said, adding, “After August’s war games, China’s military aggression has become more and more obvious. It happened,” he added.
Tensions between Taipei and Beijing rose in August after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island. Beijing responded by holding the largest-ever military exercises in the waters surrounding Taiwan. Taipei called the drill “very provocative”. In October, Chinese President Xi Jinping did not rule out the use of force to unify with Taiwan in his opening speech at the Communist Party Congress in Beijing. Later that week, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said China was pursuing unification with Taiwan “on a much earlier timeline” than previously expected. Taiwan has also become a flashpoint in US-China relations, given its close ties with Washington. It is believed to have become a key point when Xi met with US President Joe Biden at his G20 summit in November. After the meeting, Mr. Biden said he did not believe China would invade Taiwan.
