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
MILITARY BOOST: The procurement was planned after Washington recommended that Taiwan increase its stock of air defense missiles, a defense official said yesterday Taiwan is planning to order an additional four PAC-3 MSE systems and up to 500 missiles in response to an increasing number of missile sites on China’s east coast, a defense official said yesterday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the proposed order would be placed using the defense procurement special budget, adding that about NT$1 trillion (US$32,88 billion) has been allocated for the budget. The proposed acquisition would include launchers, missiles, and a lower tier air and missile defense radar system, they said The procurement was planned after the US military recommended that Taiwan increase
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS