A recent meeting of the “Fab 4” alliance focused on establishing an early warning system for the semiconductor industry to improve supply chain resilience, a Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) official said on Saturday.
Responding to reports earlier on Saturday that the four countries in the alliance — Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the US — held a videoconference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the meeting was held on Feb. 16.
It was the first formal meeting of the alliance, also known as the “Chip 4,” following a preparatory meeting held virtually in September last year after months of coordination among the four countries, the ministry said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
An MOEA official said that Taiwanese representatives at the one-hour meeting stressed the importance of creating an early warning system that covered all aspects of the complicated semiconductor supply chain, including raw materials and equipment.
The early warning system is critical, given the major chip shortages that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for the four nations involved to communicate effectively to predict when other supply chain issues could occur, the official said.
An early warning system would also undoubtedly benefit Taiwanese IC suppliers, and even the local supply chain, the official added.
The US-led Chip 4 alliance is widely seen as a Washington initiative to contain Beijing in the cutting-edge sector.
However, the official said that the one-hour meeting did not touch on export controls or ties with China.
US President Joe Biden’s administration issued sweeping new rules in October last year that include restrictions on the supply of US manufacturers’ most advanced chipmaking equipment to Chinese customers and limits on Americans working for Chinese semiconductor firms, a move aimed at choking off access to certain expertise.
China, the top trading partner of Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, has said that the US effort showed its “selfish hegemonic interest.”
The US has secured an agreement with the Netherlands and Japan to restrict exports of some advanced chipmaking machinery to China.
At the Feb. 16 meeting, the US representatives emphasized the complementary nature of the alliance in the global semiconductor supply chain, with Taiwan and South Korea’s expertise in manufacturing, the US’ upper hand in equipment supplies and IC design, and Japan’s edge in IC material supplies, the MOEA official said.
The meeting was hosted by the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto US embassy in Taipei, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
SHOW OF SUPPORT: As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan might collaborate with Manila against China’s aggressive actions, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday hinted that Taiwan might join forces with the Philippines to protect navigational freedoms, days after Beijing blocked Philippine supply ships in the South China Sea. The ministry made the comment when asked whether Taipei would be willing to join forces with the Philippines to protect the latter from increasingly aggressive activities by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy and China Coast Guard. Taiwan “is willing to cooperate with any other nation with shared values in areas of common concern, including maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacfic region,” it wrote in a statement. A Chinese
‘LIKE A BLACK HOLE’: The figure is about 7% of China’s reported military spending, although diplomats and experts say that number is often opaque or not fully inclusive China spent about US$15 billion, or 7 percent of its defense budget, on exercises in the western Pacific last year, according to a previously unpublished Taiwanese estimate, showing Beijing’s investment in military activity around Taiwan and its neighbors. The internal research by the military, reviewed by Reuters, offers a rare look into a slice of China’s defense spending as Beijing has ramped up its military presence amid rising tensions in the region. China claims Taiwan as its own and is also locked in disputes with several nations over sovereignty of large parts of the South China Sea and the East China Sea. “This
‘GLOBAL THREAT’: MOFA said that it welcomes the ‘staunch US support’ and that ‘China again made spurious claims about Taiwan that do not accord with reality’ US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stressed the importance of stability in the Taiwan Strait, while a senior Chinese military official warned the US to stop “collusion” with Taiwan in a rare one-on-one meeting yesterday, both sides said. Sullivan arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, the first US national security adviser to visit China since 2016, for three days of talks with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) and other high-ranking officials. Yesterday morning, Sullivan met with Zhang Youxia (張又俠), vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and China’s second-highest-ranking military official, at the Beijing headquarters of the commission.
PRESSURE: The Solomon Islands, acting under explicit instructions from Beijing, is aiming to prevent Taiwan from attending the next forum to be held in Honiara Australia has voiced support for Taiwan despite the Solomon Islands’ plan to undermine Taiwan’s status as an observer at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). The forum is one of the most important international organizations in the Pacific region, made up of 18 member states, including Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan’s Pacific allies, associate members and observers, along with “dialogue partners” such as the US, Japan, Canada and the EU. The 53rd edition of the forum opened in Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa, yesterday. Taiwan has been taking part in the forum and related events as a “developmental partner” under the name Taiwan / Republic of