Taiwan is facing the curse of being an ally of Uncle Sam in the same way that Germany and the rest of Europe have.
Taiwan has been obliged to give its American ally an extraordinary warning: don’t even think about blowing up our semiconductor industry.
The warning follows growing calls by U.S. politicians and military analysts that Washington should destroy the island’s vital technology sector in order to purportedly prevent China from gaining control of lucrative exports and as a way of damaging China’s economy.
Congressman Seth Moulton is the latest American voice airing such drastic action. Referring to the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Moulton said that the U.S. should “make it very clear to the Chinese that if you invade Taiwan, we’re going to blow up TSMC.”
TMSC is the world’s biggest manufacturer of semiconductors. It is a major supplier to mainland China of hi-tech chips that are, in turn, critical for a wide range of Chinese manufacturing and export industries.
Previously, it was reported that the U.S. Army War College suggested that Washington should plan “scorched-earth” tactics that could render Taiwan “not just unattractive if ever seized by force, but positively costly to maintain.”
Taiwan has reacted furiously to these unilateral American calls for sabotage. The island territory’s defense chief Chiu Kuo-cheng slammed the U.S. tough-talking, saying “the [Taiwanese] armed forces would not tolerate the destruction of any Taiwanese facility”.
The projected bombing of Taiwan’s vital semiconductor industry echoes how the U.S. blew up the Nord Stream gas pipeline last September. The pipeline under the Baltic Sea was part-owned by Germany and Russia, to deliver natural gas to fuel the German and European economies.
The decision to sabotage Nord Stream was taken by U.S. President Joe Biden, according to excellent investigative reporting by Seymour Hersh. The purpose of that act of terrorism was to cut Germany and Europe off from Russian energy exports, to be replaced by more expensive American gas. That strategic objective of displacing Russia from Europe’s energy market has been a recurring issue for successive U.S. administrations over many years.
Months before the Baltic Sea pipeline was blown up by U.S. navy divers, Biden had bragged that the facility would be terminated. He did not specify how, but he vowed that “it would not go ahead”. Biden made his blatant threat in front of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a press conference at the White House. Evidently, America’s NATO ally Germany was not even consulted about the sabotage plan.
A similar arrogant attitude is now on display towards America’s other ally Taiwan.
Washington is evidently toying with the idea of blowing up the island’s tech industry as a way to damage mainland China’s interests. Like Germany, Taiwan is revealed to be nothing more than a pawn, in America’s geopolitical machinations.
Destroying Taiwan’s lead role in the global semiconductor industry would have the additional advantage of putting U.S. companies in pole position.
Ostensibly, the U.S. had repeatedly vowed to “defend” Taiwan from what it calls “China’s aggression”. Washington has pumped the island with billions of dollars of American weaponry under the pretext of “protecting” it from China’s claims of sovereignty.
Under international and U.S. law, Taiwan is recognized as an integral part of China under the so-called One China Policy. However, Beijing accuses Washington of meddling in its sovereignty by fomenting separatist politics in Taiwan.
China’s President Xi Jinping has warned the U.S. that Taiwan is its “first red line” that must not be crossed. Beijing reserves the right to use military force to fully unify the territory if Washington continues to stoke tensions and promote a declaration in Taipei of Taiwanese independence.
Underlying America’s seemingly chivalrous claims of “defending” Taiwan are geopolitical selfish interests.
The Biden administration has imposed unprecedented export bans on semiconductor technology to China. The U.S. wants to curb China’s economy for its own gain and to hamper the development of a multipolar global economy. U.S. dominance and its dollar hegemony are threatened by China’s growing economic power.
Blowing up Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is evidently being considered as a way to cripple China which is reliant on exports of this essential technology for its industries.
The analogy with Germany and the Nord Stream gas pipeline is that Washington is aiming to damage a rival, Russia, as well as its European allies for its own strategic benefit. The sabotage of Russian-European energy trade has led to severe economic impacts on Germany and the rest of Europe. Some commentators refer to the “deindustrialization” of Europe caused by the loss of affordable Russian gas fuel. This shock treatment has been imposed on European “allies” by its supposed American “protector”.
The war in Ukraine and the dramatic escalation in hostility towards Russia from European governments has served American strategic interests from bonanza selling of weapons and expensive gas, as well as giving Washington a renewed dominance over European relations.
The same reckless, criminal arrogance of blowing up Germany’s Nord Stream pipeline is being shown in the way the Americans are talking brashly about blowing up Taiwan’s vital tech industries.
It should be obvious that Washington doesn’t have allies, only interests. When the chips are down, so to speak, America’s allies will be unceremoniously thrown under a bus or, worse, thrown into an inferno of war.
Taiwan is facing the curse of being an ally of Uncle Sam in the same way that Germany and the rest of Europe have.