Taiwan to extend compulsory military service, official says, as China shows air power

A plan to extend compulsory military service in Taiwan to one year from the current four months will be announced on Tuesday, a senior government official said, as the island deals with rising Chinese military pressure, Qazet.az reports.

The office of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said she will call a national security meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss reinforcing the island's civil defence, followed by a news conference on unspecified new civil defence measures.

Tsai's security team, including high-level officials from the defence ministry and the National Security Council, has been reviewing Taiwan's military system since 2020 amid increasing threats from China, according to the official.

Taipei, which rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, on Monday reported the largest-ever Chinese air force incursion into the island's air defence identification zone, with 43 Chinese planes crossing an unofficial buffer between the two sides.