Plans are under way to extend the compulsory military service to one year, as the current four months would not be sufficient if a conflict breaks out, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) told the legislature yesterday.
At the request of lawmakers, Kuo presented a summary work report for last year at a hearing of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, with follow-up deliberations on military service and combat training.
In response to queries by Democratic Progressive Party legislators Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) and Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀), Chiu confirmed that a Ministry of National Defense task force is studying preparations for extending conscription from four months to one year for all able-bodied men.
Photo: CNA
The ministry can implement the policy without amending the law on national conscription, which would take too long, Chiu said, adding that it would be best to change the policy as soon as possible.
This would be possible by returning to the previous definitions of “active service” and “military service” as mandated in the Act of Military Service System (兵役法), he said.
Under Article 16 of the act, standing soldier service is classified as follows: active service, or serving in a military camp for one year; military training in a camp for no more than four months; and reserve service for those discharged from active service or who have completed military training, until retirement age.
If a conflict breaks out, four months of military training would be insufficient, as the soldiers would not be able to deal with contingencies during a combat situation, Chiu said, adding that “alternative military service” would be retained, but with a reduced quota.
The ministry has no need to drill the men taking part in “alternative military service” in assault rifle use and combat training for those already working in areas such as the medical science and high-tech sectors, as they can use their professional skills to support and bolster Taiwan’s defense forces, he said.
In his report, Chiu said that China has escalated the frequency of its aircraft sorties, especially southwest of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), with China in effect undertaking “training exercises” and “warfare simulations” in the region.
“Through the whole of last year, China flew more than 900 aircraft into our ADIZ southwest sector,” the report said. “Recently, it has engaged in ‘gray zone’ attack flight patterns around our outlying islands, while [continuing its] cognitive warfare and disinformation campaign, putting pressure on Taiwan’s air defense systems and posing increasingly serious challenges to our national security.”
Separately, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) told lawmakers that he doubted the veracity of a supposed leaked document by the Russian secret service saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had considered launching an invasion of Taiwan in autumn.
“We should not be fooled by such a speculative report of which no one can yet ascertain its authenticity,” Chiu Tai-san told a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary