New Bloom (Taipei) — Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has announced the extension of the military draft to one year from the current duration of four months, citing the perceived need for increased military preparedness.

The announcement came after the president held meetings with the National Security Council, Vice-President William Lai, Premier Su Tseng-chang, Minister of Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng, and members of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus.

In her announcement, Tsai raised the issue of the war in Ukraine, emphasizing that Ukrainians had been resisting Russia for over three hundred days, but that their will to fight has not broken. She suggested that Ukraine’s capacity to resist was tied to its sufficient military capability, allowing it to buy time and to allow for assistance from other countries.

In the background, of course, lay the administration’s concerns about China’s live-fire exercises around Taiwan in August, which took place after US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. The live-fire exercises took place closer to Taiwan than those conducted during the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1995-1996. Recent days have again seen an uptick in Chinese military activity around Taiwan, believed to be a response to US legislation supportive of Taiwan’s military.

Tsai framed her decision as a tough one, but contended that it was necessary for maintaining peace through vigilance.

Likewise, Tsai said the decision as one that had come only after two years of biweekly meetings about proposals to improve military training in Taiwan.

The extension of the draft will be based on birth date, lengthening the draft to one year for males born following January 1, 2005. Those born before that date will continue to be on a four-month track for military conscription, though the numbers of those on the four-month track will decrease in the next six years. The lengthened conscription period will be rolled out in consultation with the Ministry of Education in about a year.

As part of the extension of the draft, the salary for conscripts will be increased substantially from the current NT$6,510 (US$210) to NT$20,320 (US$660), and will include meals and insurance. Tsai stated that this measure aims to ensure that conscripts do not suffer financial burdens during their conscription period, while also assisting them to pay for tuition. Conscription periods can also count toward pensions.

The training period will be 44 weeks long. This will begin with eight weeks of practical training, civil defense, and firearms training, eighteen weeks of encampment training, seven weeks of specialized training, thirteen weeks of base training, and six weeks of joint training. Draftees will be sent to different assignments based on specialized skills they may have. Tsai seemed to suggest an emphasis on asymmetric means of warfare during the press conference, such as use of rockets and drones.

Indeed, Tsai stated that while military training was seen as useless in the past, leading many to not want to undergo conscription, she aimed to change this. That being the case, she stated that she hoped for a reasonable discussion from opposition parties and civil society groups, emphasizing that she believed in the shared desire of all citizens to protect Taiwan. Her aim, she said, is to avoid the sacrifice of Taiwan’s young.

The Ukraine framing continued in a presentation subsequently offered by the Ministry of National Defense. The presentation emphasized China’s expansion of its power overseas, not only in the Indo-Pacific, but also in the Middle East and Africa through the Belt and Road Initiative. The presentation likewise called attention to military exercises by Russia aimed at intimidating Asia-Pacific countries such as Japan. As such, the issue was framed as that of military threats facing democratic countries, as not simply a matter confined to the Asia-Pacific.

The Ministry of National Defense presentation sought to situate the expansion of conscription period as being in line with global trends, citing increased military spending by Japan, the Philippines, Australia, and the European Union. Taiwan’s current four months of conscription was stated to be too short for firearms and self-defense training, particularly when compared to 24-to-30 months in Israel, two years in Singapore, and 18-to-21 months in South Korea. The reserve system will also be bolstered in order to maintain readiness.

The presentation also emphasized the role of civil defense and how, in wartime, it was the responsibility of civilians to maintain the stable operation of society. This would be the case in terms of power, water, food supply, and transportation. There would be a division of labor between professional soldiers with greater fighting capacity and conscripts.

Tsai was asked by reporters about the timing of the announcement, as to whether the DPP delayed the announcement for fear that this would affect elections–or that it could affect the prospects of DPP’s next presidential candidate. Tsai was also asked if the decision was made due to US government pressure.

Tsai denied any impact from US pressure, while also declining to provide details on cooperation with other countries.

When asked if the lengthening of the conscription period was intended to send a message to China, Tsai stated that it was intended to convey preparedness.

When asked about the possibility of female conscription, Tsai stated that more than 10% of the voluntary military was women, and that this would be considered. But Tsai added that it would address such issues one at a time, so the government could remain focused on lengthening the conscription period at this juncture.

Historically, Taiwanese men had to serve two-to-three years in the military after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) established its headquarters in Taiwan. This was decreased to one year in 2008,  and then reduced to only four months in 2013 during the Ma Ying-jeou administration. The military then turned into a mainly volunteer force.

Tsai’s actions, then, can be seen as undoing the conscription policy of the Ma administration. The Ma administration, which was a KMT government, sought to advance policies aimed at bringing Taiwan closer to China. Reducing the conscription period may have been intended as a gesture meant to facilitate friendly relations between Taiwan and China.

It is significant that Ukraine was cited as the primary rationale for lengthening the draft period, rather than the much nearer-at-hand live-fire exercises which China conducted around Taiwan in August, or the recent intrusions into the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). Most Taiwanese did not react with alarm over the People’s Liberation Army exercises, perhaps having become inured to Chinese threats over past decades. Instead, it is Ukraine that is serving as a proxy issue which repackages Taipei’s concerns about military threats from China.

Still, China’s military exercises certainly lay in the background, and it could be suggested that Chinese military threats directed at Taiwan intended to frighten it into political submission may sometimes have the opposite effect.

Opposition parties, including those associated with more China-friendly Pan-Blue Coalition, have so far suggested tentative support for military reform, though their political stance on the lengthening of the conscription period is yet to be settled.

This article was originally published in New Bloom. Edits for style.

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