Taiwan is not ruling out the possibility of imposing sanctions against Russia over its conflict with Ukraine, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday, highlighting the nation’s willingness to contribute to efforts to peacefully resolve international conflicts.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced that his country would recognize breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine held by Russian-backed separatists, saying that “Russian peacekeepers” would be deployed to the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic.
The US and the EU condemned the move, announcing that those involved would be sanctioned.
Photo: Bloomberg and Taipei Times
The ministry said that if Taiwan imposes sanctions, they would include an export ban on semiconductors and other key components to Russia.
The sanctions would not negatively affect the domestic semiconductor industry, as chip exports to Russia are minimal, totaling only US$21.64 million in 2020, or 0.013 percent of the nation’s exports of US$15.55 billion, it said.
The ministry said it would continue to closely monitor the situation at the Russia-Ukraine border, adding that, as a member of the international community, Taiwan is willing to contribute to efforts to peacefully resolve conflicts.
A Foreign Policy report on Tuesday said that Taiwan — along with Singapore and Japan — supports US calls to implement restrictive export controls on Russia.
The US plan follows a relatively new pattern — dubbed the Foreign Direct Product Rule — which extends US jurisdiction over foreign-made products using US technology, the report said.
“All semiconductors on the planet are made with US software or tools in part, so this will catch any destined to Russia,” the report quoted former US assistant secretary of commerce for export administration Kevin Wolf as saying.
Foreign Policy also quoted other US sources as saying that some US allies in Asia are worried that China might adopt Russia’s playbook for launching an attack on Taiwan.
Top US diplomats, such as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, are monitoring the Russia-Ukraine situation with regard to possible Western reactions to a Chinese attack on Taiwan, the sources were quoted as saying.
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