China's government slammed Taiwan on Wednesday for wanting to utilize the citizens of Taiwan as "cannon fodder" by increasing the length of mandatory military service from four months to one year beginning in 2024.
Taiwan will increase the necessary military service duration for all eligible men from four months to a year in response to escalating Chinese threats, President Tsai Ing-wen announced during a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday.
The new conscription period, which begins in 2024, will apply to men born after 2005, she said.
Tsai stated that four months of mandatory military training "no longer suit the needs" of Taiwan's defense and that while extending the service duration was a "difficult decision," it was important to protect the island's democratic way of life.
"We need to actively prepare for war to prevent war, and we need to be able to fight a war to stop a war," she said
China believes democratically controlled Taiwan to be its own territory and has never abandoned the use of force to seize control of the island.
Responding to a comment on Taiwan's decision to prolong the period of military service, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that "struggling for the great task of achieving national reunification is immeasurably significant, dying for Taiwan independence separatist activities is completely worthless".
"We believe Taiwan compatriots are highly principled, they will not be put up as cannon fodder by Taiwan independence separatist forces," Wang told a regular news conference.
China has increased pressure on Taiwan to recognize its sovereignty through military, political, and economic means, including nearly daily air force missions near the island during the past three years.
In recent months, China has made its largest incursion into the island's air defense zone, sending 43 airforce jets to the Taiwan Strait on Sunday. This comes as China pushes its territorial claims over Taiwan, which the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing has never controlled.
The decision is a U-turn for Taiwan, a self-governing democracy with a population of 23.5 million, which had just reduced required conscription from one year to four months.
According to Taiwan's Defense Ministry, under the new system, all conscripts will have to go through eight weeks of basic military training before moving on to 44 weeks of ground training.
Tsai also stated that conscripts' monthly payments will be increased from around $195 to more than $650.
"Maintaining peace is reliant on national defense, and national defense relies on every citizen," she said.
In a statement to CNN, a White House spokesperson expressed support for Taiwan's announcement, saying it highlighted "Taiwan's commitment to self-defense and strengthens deterrence."
