Peace crucial to chip supply: economics minister
Peace in the Taiwan Strait is key to Taiwan’s ability to ensure a continuous supply of the chips needed to power a wide range of products from vehicles to smartphones, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花 ) said.
Taipei is seeking to rally political support as China ramps up its aggression toward Taiwan. Chinese warplanes made a record 93 flights close to Taiwan over a three-day period starting on Friday, prompting the US Department of State to express concern and urge China to cease its “provocative” actions.
“Taiwan has helped foster a great chip manufacturing ecosystem with three decades of efforts against the backdrop of globalization,” Wang said in an interview on Friday last week. “The global community should take Taiwan’s security more seriously so Taiwan can continue to provide stable service to everyone and be a very good partner to everyone.”
Wang’s comments highlight the increasingly politicized nature of semiconductors as governments around the world scramble to secure sufficient chips from Taiwan to accelerate an economic rebound post-COVID-19.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電 ) boasts a 53 percent share of the contract chipmaking market, fueling concern that any instability in the Taiwan Strait could cut off supply of chips used by hundreds of companies. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音 ) in July also called for peace in the region to prevent disruptions to the supply chain.
https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2021/10/05/2003765545
It would only take a couple dozen short-range missiles from China to completely disable Taiwan's chip production. Maybe fewer depending on how concentrated is the production of high-purity gases and certain fine chemicals used in chip making.
