Taipei: Taiwan will announce plans on Tuesday to extend the term of compulsory military service to one year from the current four months, according to a senior government official, as the island grapples with increasing military pressure from China.

A national security meeting will be convened on Tuesday morning to discuss strengthening the island's civil defence, according to the office of Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen. The meeting will be followed by a press conference on unnamed new civilian protection measures.

According to the official, who wished to remain anonymous because the information was private, Tsai's security team, which includes senior members of the Ministry of Defense and the National Security Council, has been reviewing Taiwan's military system since 2020 amid increasingly increasing Chinese threats.

Also Read: Health Minister: Diabetics affect 11 million Egyptians

The person participating in the high-level security discussion said that "China's various unilateral behaviors have become a major concern for regional security."

The new system is expected to be implemented in 2024, the official said. Military reform would also include improving training for military recruits, including introducing combat instruction used by the US military and strengthening shooting drills.

Taiwan's Defense Ministry declined to comment.

It was first reported late Monday that his government would announce plans to extend mandatory military service by Tuesday, the official Central News Agency, citing government and ruling party sources familiar with the situation.

China's growing assertiveness toward an island it claims, as well as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has prompted discussions about how to strengthen defenses.

Also Read:  Netanyahu hopes to vote in a new administration on Thursday

Taiwan is slowly transitioning from a conscript army to a volunteer-dominated professional force. This is known in Russia as a "special operation".

With 43 Chinese planes crossing an unofficial line between the two sides, Taipei, which rejects Beijing's claims to sovereignty, on Monday reported the largest Chinese air force incursion into the island's air defense identification zone .

After Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei in August, China also conducted war drills close to Taiwan.

To appeal to young voters as tensions between Taipei and Beijing eased, previous governments led by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the main opposition Kuomintang reduced mandatory military service for men from more than two years to four months.

Also Read:  12 people were killed in tribal clashes in Darfur, according to an aid organisation

Tsai is in charge of a significant modernization program to make the island's military more mobile, agile, and difficult to attack.

In recent years, China has increased its diplomatic, military and economic pressure on the autonomous island to force it to submit to Beijing's rule. Taiwan's government claims that only the people of Taiwan have the power to determine their future and promises to defend the country if attacked.