Taiwan may extend conscription as Ukraine invasion stokes China fears

An army reservist at a training camp in Nanshipu, Taiwan. Since 2013, every male over 18 has had to complete four months of military training. Photograph: Walid Berrazeg/Sopa Images/Rex

Taiwan is considering extending compulsory military service for young citizens to a year, its defence minister has said, in an apparent reverse of the island’s years-long transition from conscription towards a fully voluntary military.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reignited debates in Taiwan over the readiness of its defence force for a potential invasion by China, which claims the island as a province it must at some point “retake”. Taiwan’s government has been increasing defence spending and its weapons procurement from the US, but at the same time has been trying to change its defence force to an entirely voluntary organisation and address long-running problems with training and resources.