Major concerns have been sparked in the tech industry over supply if China were to invade Taiwan amid the rising tensions between the two countries.
Experts have said that the most-advanced chip factory in the world on the island would be rendered ‘not operable’, plunging the global supply chain into chaos – resulting in a shortage of smartphones, computers and brake sensors.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has visited Taiwan despite repeated warnings from the Chinese not to, claiming it is a ‘violation of the one-China principle.’
She touched down in Taipei earlier this morning and was greeted by Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, before China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately blasted the move, calling it a ‘serious disregard of China’s strong opposition.’
Apple’s chipmaker, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), has warned that a war between Taiwan and China would make ‘everybody losers,’ sparking economic turmoil.
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TSMC Chair Mark Liu, pictured, said earlier this week that the chipmaker’s plant, which is the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, would not be able to operate if the Chinese invaded as it cannot be run ‘by force’
Apple chipmaker, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), has warned that a war between Taiwan and China would make ‘everybody losers’
Liu stressed it would cause a supply chain crisis which would extend as far away as the U.S., which last month passed a bill trying to fix the shortage
Police officers stand guard outside Grand Hyatt hotel as demonstrators take part in a protest against U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit in Taipei
TSMC Chair Mark Liu said earlier this week that the chipmakers’ plant, which is the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, would not be able to operate if the Chinese invaded.
He told CNN: ‘Nobody can control TSMC by force. If you take a military force or invasion, you will render TSMC factory not operable.
‘Because this is such a sophisticated manufacturing facility, it depends on real-time connection with the outside world, with Europe, with Japan, with U.S., from materials to chemicals to spare parts to engineering software and diagnosis.’
He urged Bejing to think twice before taking any action, because China accounts for 10 percent of the TSMC’s business.
Liu stressed it would cause a supply chain crisis that would extend as far away as the U.S., which last month passed a bill trying to fix the shortage.
Taiwan manufactured more than 60 percent of the globe’s semiconductors last year, with Liu urging all parties to think of ways to avoid war so the ‘engine of the world economy can continue humming.’
He added that lessons from the Russian invasion of Ukraine should be learned, as the war there has created a ‘lose, lose, lose’ situation for the Western world as well as Russia and Ukraine.
Pelosi’s visit makes her the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the island in 25 years.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday in a visit that defied warnings from China, angering the government
Supporters hold a banner outside the hotel where U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is staying in Taipei, Taiwan
Taipei claimed that more than 20 Chinese military planes entered Taiwan’s airspace on the day of Pelosi’s visit
Amid the intensifying warnings from China over Pelosi’s visit, four US ships, including the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (pictured in a file photo), were positioned in waters east of Taiwan on ‘routine’ deployments
Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted a photo of the Congressional delegation’s arrival in Taipei with the words: ‘Our visit reiterates that America stands with Taiwan: a robust, vibrant democracy and our important partner in the Indo-Pacific’
It enraged China, which sees the self-governing island nation as its own territory, despite never having governed it.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has threatened to unite the two nations by force, with Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army holding live fire drills in a direct defiance to White House urgings.
The exercises will take place from August 4 to 7, when the PLA ‘will conduct important military exercises and training activities including live-fire drills in the following maritime areas and their air space bounded by lines joining,’ according to the state Xinjua News Agency.
Additionally, Taipei claimed that more than 20 Chinese military planes entered Taiwan’s airspace on the day of Pelosi’s visit. As the speaker’s Air Force C40 approached Taipei, Chinese Air Force Su-35 fighter jets were crossing the Taiwan Straits, local media outlets reported.
chilling footage shared on Chinese social network Weibo appears to show amphibious tanks on the coast of Fujian along the Taiwan Strait. Further footage showed military equipment on the move in the city of Xiamen.
The White House defended Pelosi’s right to go to Taiwan even as President Joe Biden’s administration pointed out the speaker makes her own decisions.
They added that she heads a different branch of government and that there have been no changes to the United States’ one-China policy, with the administration warning Beijing not to harm the speaker.
Eight US F-15 fighter jets and five tanker aircraft took off from a U.S. base in Okinawa to provide protection for Pelosi’s flight, NHK reported.
Taiwan gave Pelosi a warm welcome. The island’s tallest building, TAIPEI 101, lit up with a welcome message for Speaker Pelosi and supporters held welcome signs out of the hotel she will reportedly stay in.
Her visit, which was never publicly announced due to security reasons, is part of a broader trip she is taking to Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan.
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