Taiwan will join “democratic countries” in imposing sanctions on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, the government said on Friday, with major Apple supplier contract chipmaker TSMC saying it would comply with all export control rules.
The crisis is being watched closely in Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory and which has faced increased military pressure from Beijing over the last two years.
“We very harshly condemn such an act of invasion and will join democratic countries to jointly impose sanctions,” Premier Su Tseng-chang told reporters in Taipei without giving details.
Asked about the sanctions, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, a major Apple Inc supplier and Asia’s most valuable listed company, said it had a robust export control system and would follow the rules. “TSMC complies with all applicable laws and regulations and is fully committed to complying with the new export control rules announced,” it said in a statement.
Chiu Tai-san, head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, said there was “no comparison” between Ukraine and Taiwan in terms of strategic importance.
“Taiwan has long been the most important country in the first island chain. If Taiwan is lost, the strategic planning in Asia will need to be changed significantly,” he said, referring to the islands and countries that run from southern Japan down to the bottom of the South China Sea.
MacDailyNews Take: Get busy building those chip factories in Phoenix, Arizona and Kumamoto, Japan, TSMC. Better safe than sorry!
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