Tsai Ing-wen, the President of Taiwan said that the island will extend compulsory military service from four months to one year starting 2024 onward, due to a giant neighbor China that is increasing intimidation on the face of a democratically governed island.
This widely-expected move comes as China ramps up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan to assert sovereignty claims including almost every day over the past three years that Chinese air force missions near the island.
High-level officials from the National Security Council and the defense ministry have been reviewing Taiwan’s military system since 2020.
On Monday, there were reports of Chinese air force incursion into the island’s air defense identification zone, with 43 Chinese planes crossing an unofficial safeguard, which Taipei rejects China’s sovereignty claims.
China has also performed the war games near Taiwan, sparked by the visit of the U.S House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei in August this year.
