Taiwan extends mandatory military service to prepare soldiers for cross-strait conflict

Name: PLA scrambles record 71 warplanes near Taiwan in response to increased US military aid
Uploaded: 2022-12-27T09:56:51.000Z
Duration: 2 min 4 s
Description: PLA scrambles record 71 warplanes near Taiwan in response to increased US military aid

Starting in 2024, men will be required to serve for one year rather than four months, while pay for conscripts will more than triple, according to source

‘It is a highly difficult decision to make,’ Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen says of plan seen as unpopular among island’s youth

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Taiwan has just 165,000 active-duty troops, compared with the 2 million-strong People’s Liberation Army. Photo: EPA-EFE

Lawrence Chungin Taipei

Published: 5:56pm, 27 Dec 2022Updated: 7:28pm, 27 Dec 2022

Taiwan will extend its mandatory military service to one year to better train soldiers to take on mainland Chinese forces in the event of a cross-strait conflict.

Under the plan, men aged 18 and above will be required to serve for one year instead of four months from 2024, when the self-ruled island will elect a new president.

“I must admit it is a highly difficult decision to make, but as a president and commander-in-chief of our forces, I must do so to uphold the interest of the nation and the persistent survival of Taiwan as well as the free [people] living in the generations to come. This is my responsibility as president,” Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said when asked if the plan would sabotage her party’s chances in the election.

A legislative source said monthly pay for the conscripts would be raised to just over NT$20,000 (US$651) from NT$6,500.

“Combat instructions currently used by the US military will be included as part of the training for the conscripts under the plan aimed at overhauling the structure of the military forces,” the source said on Tuesday.

Conscripts must be able to work with the civil defence force on missions and need to receive stress resistance training on simulated battlefields so they can handle the challenges of war, according to the source.

Tsai said that in the future, the military would be divided into a main combat force, garrison force, civil defence force and reserve force. Conscripts would mainly serve in the garrison force during their mandatory service

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PLA scrambles record 71 warplanes near Taiwan in response to increased US military aid

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Taiwan extends mandatory military service to prepare soldiers for cross-strait conflict

Starting in 2024, men will be required to serve for one year rather than four months, while pay for conscripts will more than triple, according to source ‘It is a highly difficult decision to make,’ Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen says of plan seen as unpopular among island’s youth

Starting in 2024, men will be required to serve for one year rather than four months, while pay for conscripts will more than triple, according to source

‘It is a highly difficult decision to make,’ Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen says of plan seen as unpopular among island’s youth