Taiwan News — Thursday 21 July 2022
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Responding to former United States Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s suggestion to let men and women serve at least one year in the Armed Forces, Premier Su Tseng-chang on Wednesday 20 July emphasized that the government had been continuously improving Taiwan’s defences. During his visit to Taiwan, the former Trump administration official called on The United States to abandon its “strategic ambiguity” about an eventual Chinese attack. He also said that Taiwan should raise its defence budget and expand military service to include men and women for at least one year.
The equipment and the training of the Armed Forces had not stopped improving since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, Su told reporters. The nation’s defence and the protection of stability and peace in the region had also remained top priorities for the government, he added. Taiwan’s armed forces are predominantly equipped by The United States, but President Tsai has made development of an advanced home-grown defence industry a priority, especially as China — which claims the island as its own — steps up military modernisation efforts and drills near Taiwan.