TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) will discuss the extension of compulsory military service with the National Security Council (NSC) at a meeting next Tuesday (Dec. 27), according to media reports.

Time has been running out because there should be a year between the announcement of the measure and the start of its implementation. If a decision is not reached by the end of the month, any lengthening of the conscription period will have to wait until 2025 instead of 2024.

The general expectation was that the military service would be extended from the current four months to a full year. The president would personally preside over an NSC meeting Tuesday morning and announce the results to the public, though the Presidential Office was not confirming any date, CNA reported Saturday (Dec. 24).

The aging of the population and the strengthening of China’s capability to stage a landing on Taiwan were key factors behind the move toward extending conscription, according to a military document quoted in the report.