Taiwan will extend compulsory military service from four months to one year, President Tsai Ing-wenen announced on Tuesday, December 27, stressing that the island must prepare for growing threats from China.
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“The current four-month military service is not enough to respond to the constantly and rapidly changing situation”she said at a press conference. “We have decided to restore one-year military service from 2024”, she added. The reform will apply to all men born after January 1, 2005, she said.
The democratic island of Taiwan of 24 million inhabitants lives under the constant threat of an invasion from China, which considers it part of its territory to be reconquered one day, and if necessary by force.
“Peace will not fall from the sky”
The announcement comes two days after Chinese military exercises near Taiwan that Beijing says it held in response to the ” Provocation “ and at one “collision” between Washington and Taipei.
“Nobody wants war… but, my compatriots, peace will not fall from the sky”said the president.
Under President Xi Jinping, Beijing has stepped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan as relations deteriorated. The prospect of a Chinese invasion is increasingly worrying Westerners and many of China’s neighbors.
Re-elected in October for a third term as China’s leader, Xi made it clear that “reunification” of Taiwan could not wait for future generations.
Military forces to the advantage of China
In the event of a conflict, the island of Taiwan is largely exceeded in terms of manpower, with 88,000 soldiers in the army, against one million for Beijing, according to Pentagon estimates. Beijing also has a considerable advantage when it comes to military equipment.
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Taiwan has stepped up training for reservists and increased purchases of fighter jets and anti-ship missiles to bolster its defenses. But experts say that’s not enough.
Once unpopular, compulsory military service was introduced by a military dictatorship before the mountainous island became a progressive democracy. The previous government in Taipei had shortened it from one year to four months, preferring to develop an army of recruits.
Guarantee the democratic way of life
But recent polls show that more than three-quarters of Taiwanese find this duration too short. The military is also struggling to recruit and retain full-time personnel due to weak financial incentives.
Tsai Ing-wenen called her decision to extend military service a“extremely difficult” but described her as intended for “to guarantee the democratic way of life for our future generations”.
China and Taiwan have been separated since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, and the Taiwanese president has said joining China is not acceptable to Taiwanese.
