Taiwan would send the wrong message to the world if it decides to shorten mandatory military service, former US secretary of defense Mark Esper told a local TV news program on Monday.
Esper made the remarks in an online interview, together with Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), in the program TVBS Meeting Room.
The two were asked about a statement by New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, that he would consider a shorter four-month compulsory military service if elected president.
Photo: AFP
Hou later said that shortening the service period would be based on the premise that a peaceful and stable relationship has been established across the Taiwan Strait.
Esper said that restoring military service to one year is “a courageous decision” on the part of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Washington has made a commitment to Taiwan that can be traced back to the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, he said.
However, to garner the full support of Americans, “I think Taiwan should do everything that it can as well to show that Taiwan and the Taiwanese people are committed to their own self-defense as well,” he said.
The commitment includes “doing things that require sacrifice,” such as young people serving in the military and increasing defense spending, he added.
Shortening the service period again would send “all the wrong signals to the United States and to Taiwan’s other supporters around the world,” he said.
He cited the example of Ukraine, saying that the US is inspired to support Ukraine as Ukrainians — men and women alike — are willing to pick up arms and fight for their country.
If Taiwan goes in the opposite direction, it would prompt questions about the resolve of Taiwanese, he said.
Americans might ask themselves: “Why should I send our sons and daughters to fight in Taiwan if Taiwanese boys and girls won’t fight for their own country?” he said.
Wu agreed, saying that Taiwan cannot ask other countries to support it while sitting idly.
“We have to be very realistic about the threat we have been receiving from the other side of the Taiwan Strait, especially the military threat,” he said. “And if we want some other countries to give us some necessary support, we cannot sit idly and ask other countries to provide support to Taiwan.”
Asked yesterday about Esper’s comment, Hou said that he was against the Democratic Progressive Party’s “flexible study program.”
He was referring to the government’s “3+1” progam that would allow conscripts to finish college in three years and military service in one year, enabling them to graduate alongside those who do not have to serve.
Extending military service to one year is necessary, he said, adding that Taiwan would continue to improve its defense capabilities.
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
COMMUNITY SPIRIT: As authorities were busy with post-typhoon cleanups elsewhere, residents cleaned fallen leaves and cut small fallen trees blocking the hiking trails All hiking trails damaged by Typhoon Kong-rey have been repaired and has reopened for people who want a refreshing hike in Taipei during the Lunar New Year holiday, a city official said. The Taipei Basin is known for its easily accessible hiking trails. It has more than 130 trails combined into the 92km-long Taipei Grand Trail, which was divided into seven major routes when it was launched by the Taipei City Government in 2018. Last year, a part of the sixth route of the Grand Trail collapsed due to Typhoon Kong-rey, which hit Taiwan in October. The damaged section belongs to one
RSS