TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan extends conscription. Because of the increasing threat from China, the service will be extended to a year of four months, President Tsai Ing-wen said at a news conference on Tuesday.
“As long as Taiwan is strong enough, it will be the home of democracy and freedom around the world, not become a battlefield,” Tsai said.
China regards Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic. Tensions have intensified following the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the summer. China had described this as provocative support for Taiwan and in response held major military maneuvers around the island in August. Chinese planes have repeatedly invaded Taiwan’s airspace in recent months. The country only reported the largest border violation by the Chinese air force on Monday.
Taiwan needs to increase its defense capabilities, Tsai said. The conscripts would be trained, among other things, to use anti-aircraft missiles such as the Stinger type.
(By Yimou Lee, edited by Hans Seidenstücker. Edited by Christian Götz. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at [email protected] (for politics and economics) or [email protected] (for companies and markets )