The government is to assess whether the military conscription period needs to be lengthened to bolster Taiwan’s defense capabilities, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said yesterday.
Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) on Monday told lawmakers that the measure could be vital to the nation’s ability to deal with existential threats.
Ukraine’s resistance against Russian aggression has been an inspiration to Taiwanese and a reminder that the nation’s survival is predicated on the will to defend it, Lo told a news conference following the weekly Cabinet meeting in Taipei.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
The government’s focus is to augment the military reserve by creating mobilization plans and reservist training programs via the All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency, which was activated in January, he said.
However, the government acknowledges that there is a consensus among Taiwanese to extend military conscription and re-evaluate Taiwan’s military system, he said.
The support for conscription is evidence that Taiwanese are united in their resolve to defend the nation’s democracy, he said, adding that the government would proceed with this in mind.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of National Defense would examine the viability of proposals to extend military service, he said.
Separately yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee asked Deputy Minister of National Defense Bo Hong-hui (柏鴻輝) when his ministry could be expected to make a decision on lengthening conscription.
A decision to change the terms of military conscription must originate from the whole of government and the defense ministry is not prepared to discuss the issue of its own volition, Bo said.
The assessment should not take more than a year, he said.
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Liao Wan-ju (廖婉汝) and DPP Legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) told defense officials at the meeting that a civil defense pamphlet issued by the defense ministry is too brief and has unrealistic instructions.
Instruction to scan QR codes to get information about air raid shelters is questionable, as cell towers and Internet services are likely be targeted in a war, Liao said.
The defense ministry’s pamphlet contains virtually no practical advice for people to survive a war, whereas a Latvian civil defense booklet has 15 pages of useful material, Lin said.
The first edition of the defense ministry’s pamphlet was published to establish first principles, Bo said, adding that no specific instructions can be published before it discusses and tests ideas with local governments.
The annual Wan An air raid drill this year would provide one occasion for the government to gain a clearer picture about what civil defense strategies would be effective, he said.
Indonesia has sent hundreds of riot police to a tiny island after protests broke out against a China-backed project that would displace thousands of residents. About 1,000 people protested in Batam City on Monday over a plan to develop Rempang island into a Chinese-funded economic zone, including the construction of a multibillion-dollar glass factory, that would displace about 7,500 people. Some protesters clashed with security forces outside a government agency, wielding machetes, Molotov cocktails and stones, police said, adding that dozens were arrested. Beijing has poured money into infrastructure and resource projects in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy and its investments have previously caused
‘HARASSMENT’: A record 103 Chinese warplanes were detected in 24 hours, posing severe challenges to security in the Taiwan Strait and the region, the ministry said Taiwan yesterday told China to stop its “destructive unilateral actions” after more than 100 Chinese warplanes and nine navy ships were detected in areas around the nation. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) described the number of warplanes detected in 24 hours as a “recent high,” while Beijing has so far refrained from issuing any official comment on the sorties. “Between the morning of September 17th to 18th, the Ministry of National Defense had detected a total of 103 Chinese aircraft, which was a recent high and has posed severe challenges to the security across the Taiwan Strait and in the region,”
China would be making “a grave strategic mistake” if it tried to attack Taiwan, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley said in an interview with CNN that aired on Sunday. Asked by host Fareed Zakaria whether the US could repel a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Milley said: “It is entirely possible.” Milley reiterated that the US still maintains the Taiwan Relations Act, and that it wants “a peaceful outcome between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China, and whatever that is between those two peoples.” “Militarily, I think China would make a grave strategic mistake if they attempted to
‘CRITICAL TRADE PARTNER’: The proposal had momentum due to a bipartisan consensus on boosting the economic partnership with Taiwan, a US senator said The US Senate Committee on Finance on Thursday passed the US-Taiwan Expedited Double Tax Relief Act, with US officials saying that it would ease pressure on investors and boost the partnership between Taipei and Washington, although Taiwan needs to enact reciprocal legislation for it to take effect. The bill — which was developed by US senators Ron Wyden, the committee’s chairman, and ranking member Mike Crapo, along with US representatives Jason Smith, chairman of the US House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, and ranking member Richard Neal — was passed in a 27-0 vote. The proposal had momentum because of
RSS