Taiwan-China Cross-Strait Tensions

Taiwan Tells World its Commited to Defending Itself

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By TaiwanPlus

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Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen recently announced the extension of military conscription, returning to one year from the current four-month period. This will take effect from January 1, 2024, for draftees born in and after 2005. She also drew comparisons with Ukraine, mentioning that ""only by preparing for war, can we avoid war."" Taiwan Talks takes a deep dive on how the extension sends a message to freedom-loving democracies around the world, and in what ways this could substantially boost Taiwan’s deterrence capabilities. In this episode, Charles Wu, National Chengchi University Department of Diplomacy Associate Professor, and Lev Nachman, National Chengchi University College of Social Sciences Assistant Professor and Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of California, Irvine, discuss how this move could boost Taiwan’s strategic role in maintaining regional peace and the public’s views on this move. We also hear from Lo Chih-cheng, DPP Legislator and the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee Convenor, and Patrick Cronin, Hudson Institute Asia-Pacific and former senior U.S. military and foreign service officer, on more combat training with the U.S. and increased global support for defending Taiwan as a result of the extension. Topics discussed: - How the conscription extension is substantially enhancing Taiwan’s defense capabilities - Is one year enough? How one year conscription compares with the current four-months, and previously 2.5 years when Taiwan was under martial law - How Taiwan compares with Ukraine in defending national sovereignty and the willingness to defend the homeland - Is Taiwan on the brink of war and what is behind the push for military reform - In light of this and other ongoing military reforms, will this be enough for Taiwan to withstand a potential Chinese attack by 2027? - With daily PLA incursions near Taiwan, how can the country work with the U.S. and other allies in responding to increasing Chinese aggression? - Impact of conscription extension on Taiwan’s ruling DPP and its chances of retaining the presidency in 2024 - Message conscription extension is sending to the world, especially among the U.S., Japan, and other key strategic allies of Taiwan - How Taiwan’s conscription compares to that of other Asian countries, from South Korea, Singapore, to Israel - Implications behind the removal of grants in the 2023 U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and whether there will be an impact on the timely provision of defense articles from the U.S. to Taiwan - Has the U.S. had an impact on Taiwan’s decision to extend its mandatory conscription period?