Taiwan extends military service

Taiwan announced it is extending its compulsory military service to one year from the current four months, a signal to Beijing and Washington it is serious about defending itself.

President Tsai Ing-wen said at a press briefing Tuesday in Taipei that the change coming in 2024 was necessary to ensure international support and that China’s expansionism threatened regional stability.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, but it is unavoidable for Taiwan’s survival,” she said, speaking alongside Premier Su Tseng-chang, Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng and other top officials. “As long as Taiwan is strong enough, Taiwan will not become a battlefield.”

Taiwan’s government is working with the U.S. — its main military backer — to fortify its defenses against the possibility of an invasion by China, which claims the island as part of its territory.

Last week, U.S. lawmakers passed a $1.7 trillion spending bill that included $2 billion in weapons funding for Taiwan.

The spending pledge prompted China to put on its biggest display of military might since it held unprecedented exercises around the island following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit in August. Some 71 Chinese warplanes flew near the island to start this week, including 47 that made incursions across either the median line of the Taiwan Strait or into Taiwan’s southwest air-defense identification zone.