Taiwan extends conscription to one year
One year instead of four months: Against the background of Chinese military maneuvers, Taiwan is extending conscription.
Among other things, the conscripts should train the use of anti-aircraft missiles.
Taiwan extends conscription. Because of the increasing threat from China, the service will be extended to one year, President Tsai Ing-wen said at a press conference. So far, the service for conscripts has lasted four months. “As long as Taiwan is strong enough, it will be the home of democracy and freedom around the world, not become a battlefield,” Tsai said.
Conscripts receive anti-aircraft missile training
Taiwan needs to increase its defense capabilities, Tsai said. The conscripts would be trained, among other things, to use anti-aircraft missiles such as the Stinger type.
China regards Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic. Tensions have intensified following the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the summer.
China had described this as provocative support for Taiwan and in response held major military maneuvers around the island in August. Chinese planes have repeatedly invaded Taiwan’s airspace in recent months.
Background: Taiwan and the “One China Policy”
China regards Taiwan as its own part of the country. With its “One China Doctrine,” the communist leadership in Beijing is demanding that no country be allowed to maintain diplomatic or other official relations with the democratic government in Taiwan’s Taipei if it wants to maintain normal relations with China. Most countries, including the USA, have adhered to this principle for decades.
Germany also has no official diplomatic relations with Taiwan. In fact, the bilateral relations are “good and intensive”, according to the Federal Foreign Office. For Germany, Taiwan is one of the most important trading partners in Asia.
The delicate situation goes back to the civil war in China, when the troops of the Chinese national Kuomintang fled from the communists to Taiwan in 1949. The “Republic of China” – the official name for the government in Taipei – even held China’s permanent seat on the UN Security Council for more than two decades. It was not until 1971 that she had to hand him over to the communist government in Beijing.
A vague consensus that both belong to “one China,” though they accepted different interpretations of what that meant, brought about reconciliation between the two sides.
