Taipei – The Taiwanese government decided to extend mandatory military service from four months to one year, amid growing tensions with China, which claims the self-ruled island as its territory.
President Tsai announced the new plans at a press conference on Tuesday, to bolster Taiwan's defence in the event of an attack from Beijing.
"Peace will not drop from the sky... Taiwan is on the frontline of authoritarian expansion," she said.
The conscripts, she said will also undergo more intense training, borrowing some elements from the US and other advanced militaries. The island's current defence system was inadequate to cope with aggression from China, which has one of the world's largest and most advanced militaries.
The Taiwanese army has shrunk since the early 1990s when all men over the age of 18 were required to serve in the military for up to three years. Over the next few decades, service was shortened to one year and 10 months before being further reduced to four months. The new rule takes effect in January 2024 - the same month Taiwan will elect its next president.
"This is an extremely difficult decision, but as president, as the head of military forces, it is my unavoidable duty to defend national interests and our democratic way of life," President Tsai said.
"No-one wants war, Taiwan and Taiwanese people are the same, and the international community is the same," she said, adding "China's military aggression has become increasingly obvious after its war game in August."
Tensions between Taipei and Beijing soared in August following a visit to the island by US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.
Beijing responded by holding its biggest-ever military exercises in the seas around Taiwan. Taipei called the drills "highly provocative".
Taiwan has also become a flashpoint in US-China relations given the island's close ties to Washington.
Tensions spiralled up on Monday when Taiwan reported one of the biggest Chinese incursions around the island, with 71 Chinese air force planes, including fighter jets and drones, entering Taiwan's so-called air defence identification zone.
-BBC