Some in Cabinet favor conscription discussion: source

• By Lee Hsin-fang and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Some members of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration feel that now is the time to discuss extending mandatory military service, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a source said yesterday.

Politicians of both major parties in the past avoided the issue of extending mandatory military service out of fear of losing the support of younger voters, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Some are calling for the issue to be discussed now, because of the uncertainty sparked by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the official added.

Photo: Bloomberg

Asked recently about the issue, Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said that although lengthening the military service period is not solely his decision, he agreed with an extension in theory.

“If it would benefit the safe and sustainable development of our country, then several months or a year more shouldn’t be a problem,” Hsu said.

“Two issues would need to be discussed before the service length is extended,” the official said yesterday. “First, how many troops Taiwan needs and how much the defense budget needs to be increased, and second, if the service length is extended, how would that affect the supply of labor for industry?”

The service length that would likely benefit the military the most while affecting industry the least would be between nine months and one year, the official said.

Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) on Friday said that the issue is being discussed by the administration, but that the current focus is on bolstering the reserve force, and “integrating reserves and active-duty personnel into a single system.”

The aim is to ensure that Taiwan could call up a sufficient number of well-trained personnel if the need suddenly arises, he said.

Whether mandatory service should be extended, and by how much, would depend on training capacity, as well as how much it would benefit Taiwan’s asymmetrical combat capability, he added.