War Tension in Taiwan... 85% Support Extending Military Service from 4 Months to 1 Year

A poll revealed that 85% of Taiwanese citizens support the government's decision to extend the mandatory military service period from the current 4 months to 1 year. This is interpreted as reflecting the escalating military threat from China.

According to local media such as Liberty Times on the 20th (local time), a poll conducted by the Taiwanese think tank Defense Security Research Institute on about 1,500 Taiwanese adults showed that 85% of respondents supported the decision to extend the mandatory military service period to 1 year.

US Navy ship deployed to the Taiwan Strait
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

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Among them, the approval rate among young people aged 18 to 29 was 75%, somewhat lower than the overall approval rate of 85%. Supporters of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) showed 94% approval for the extension decision, while 80% of supporters of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) expressed support for this decision.

In a survey asking about the most urgent improvements needed in the military (multiple responses allowed), 46.1% of respondents chose "improvement of military training methods," the highest proportion. This was followed by "improvement of weapons and equipment" (37.9%) and "organizational restructuring" (32.8%).

The fact that 85% of Taiwanese support extending the mandatory military service period is seen as reflecting the military threat from China.

Taiwanese warships patrolling the frontline islands during China's Taiwan encirclement drills
[Photo by AFP·Yonhap News]

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This poll was conducted by the Defense Security Research Institute, commissioned by the Election Study Center of National Chengchi University, targeting 1,535 Taiwanese adults from the 23rd to 29th of last month, with a margin of error of ±2.5 percentage points.

Earlier, at the end of last year, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen announced that starting January 1, 2024, the mandatory military service period would be extended from 4 months to 1 year.

Since Tsai Ing-wen of the DPP took office in 2016, China has applied intense military and diplomatic pressure on Taiwan. Recently, China conducted large-scale military exercises involving combat readiness patrols encircling Taiwan in all directions, citing the meeting between President Tsai and Kevin McCarthy, the third-ranking U.S. official and Speaker of the House, as a reason to increase military pressure.

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