Taiwan extends mandatory military service over China threat

Taiwan announced an extension in mandatory military service from four months to one year, citing the threat from an increasingly hostile China.

Beijing considers self-ruled, democratic Taiwan a part of its territory, to be taken one day, by force if necessary, and the island lives under the constant fear of a Chinese invasion.

China's "intimidation and threats against Taiwan are getting more obvious", President Tsai Ing-wen told a press conference after a high-level government meeting on national security.

"No one wants war... but my fellow countrymen, peace will not fall from the sky."

"The current four-month military service is not enough to meet the fast and ever-changing situation," she said. "We have decided to restore the one-year military service from 2024."

The extended requirement will apply to men born after January 1, 2005, Tsai added.

Mandatory service used to be deeply unpopular in Taiwan, and its previous government had reduced it from one year to four months with the aim of creating a mainly volunteer force.

But recent polling showed more than three-quarters of the Taiwanese public now believes that is too short.

Tsai described the extension as "an extremely difficult decision... to ensure the democratic way of life for our future generations".

"We can only avoid a war by preparing for a war and we can only stop a war by being capable of fighting a war."

The military service announcement came two days after Chinese military exercises near Taiwan.