The nation has enough fuel inventory to last for 11 days, which is adequate as China holds three days of military exercises around Taiwan, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said yesterday.
Furthermore, there has been no disruption to the delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Taiwan, Wang said on her way to a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, when asked by reporters whether the military drills have affected the nation’s oil and natural gas imports.
China launched the air and sea military exercises near Taiwan on Saturday, saying they would continue for three days, in the wake of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) meeting with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday last week. Tsai stopped over in California on her return trip from Taiwan’s two allies in Central America.
Photo: CNA
Asked about the nation’s fuel reserves in the event of a blockade by Chinese forces, Wang said the current inventory would last for 11 days.
In the long term, the government is speeding up its construction of LNG storage facilities, which include a third LNG terminal at Guantang Industrial Park (觀塘工業區) in Taoyuan, one in Kaohsiung and an LNG receiving station at Keelung’s Hsieh-ho Power Plant (協和電廠), she said.
Asked about the chip industry, Wang said the ministry is hoping for partnerships between domestic and international manufacturers of semiconductor equipment and materials to build up an ecosystem and boost supply chain resilience.
Such cooperations would also facilitate the upgrading of Taiwan’s semiconductor equipment manufacturing industry, she said.
In addition, the ministry is providing “guidance” to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in dealing with provisions in the US’ Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act, which aims to boost the US chip industry, she added.
TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) has said that certain supplementary restrictions and regulations in the act were “unacceptable” and could deter potential partners from applying for subsidies.
Wang said TSMC was in talks with the US government on the details of the subsidies outlined in the act.
She expressed hope that the restrictive conditions on subsidies would not adversely affect industrial cooperation between the US and Taiwan or lead to higher construction costs.
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