Taiwan is due to extend its compulsory military service from four months to at least one year, the island's most senior defense official told lawmakers on Wednesday, in a move to better prepare the country's citizens for a hot war with neighboring China.
Taiwanese military-age males could begin serving the longer regimens in 2024 if the decision is made before the end of this year, Chiu Kuo-cheng, the defense minister, told reporters outside the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan's parliament.
Discussions for the complex policy shift are still ongoing, he said, noting that delaying the announcement into the new year would inevitably push back implementation by a further 12 months to a 2025 start.
"The military's thinking is very straightforward," said Chiu. "How do we increase our military capabilities and enhance our training? Those are the considerations. Protecting our country is everybody's shared responsibility."
Local media reports said the Executive Yuan, which comprises President Tsai Ing-wen's cabinet, could make the announcement on December 22. It would extend military service to 12 months for conscripts born after 2006.
Under Tsai's predecessor, Taipei wound down conscription to four months as part of the island's transition to an all-volunteer force of professional soldiers. Its military now fields 165,000 active-duty troops and roughly 20,000 short-term conscripts at any one time.
The four-month regimen, which began in 2013, was implemented at a time of reduced tensions across the Taiwan Strait. However, Tsai and her anti-unification party have been urged to review the policy since they took power in 2016.
Her government has sought to balance souring relations with China against calls by the United States to show more resolve to fight. The debate about conscription gained further momentum after Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, with Taiwan now on course to reverse the policy after less than a decade.
Aside from preparing its armed forces for a conflict that has been brewing for more than 70 years, Taiwan's other challenges also include girding its population for the unthinkable by encouraging more participation in public and private civil defense training.
Public opinion surveys have shown a general willingness in Taiwan to take up arms to prevent armed occupation by China.
Washington, whose longstanding security relationship with Taipei doesn't include a concrete defense commitment, despite President Joe Biden's comments suggesting otherwise, is also watching the island's determination to reform its reserves, which number more than two million on paper.
Chiu, Taiwan's defense chief, said a pilot program that called up some 15,000 reservists for a two-week training regime this year had shown promising results and would be expanded by 7,000 personnel in 2023. It means around 22,000 reservists will undergo two weeks of more intensive combat training next year, in addition to the 97,000 reservists who are recalled annually for a weeklong training course.
Those who took part in the longer test program more than doubled their marksmanship training to 28 hours and quadrupled the time spent on combat skills to 56 hours, returning better results in both areas, Taiwan's defense ministry said in a parliamentary report.
Separately on Tuesday in the U.S., Congress moved a step closer to boosting Taiwan's defense capacity in significant ways after House and Senate committees submitted a compromise version of the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act to fund national defense in 2023.
The NDAA, which is requesting up to $857.9 billion, includes $10 billion in grants and loans for Taiwan to be used to procure U.S. weapons and services between 2023 and 2027. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill believe the unprecedented security assistance will deter China from attempting an invasion of the island.
The bill is expected to reach Biden's desk to be signed into law later this month.
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John Feng is Newsweek's contributing editor for Asia based in Taichung, Taiwan. His focus is on East Asian politics. He ... Read more
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