Taipei: President Lai Ching-te on Thursday expressed Taiwan's openness to collaborate with other democratic countries on semiconductors, contending that such an alliance would enhance the country's deterrence.
According to Focus Taiwan, Taiwan will "collaborate with our democratic partners to form a global alliance for the AI chip industry and establish democratic supply chains for industries connected to high-end chips," Lai said as he addressed a two-day international security forum, HFX Taipei. He emphasized that deepening mutually beneficial cooperation in technology allows for enhanced deterrence and the maintenance of global security as authoritarian regimes, particularly China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, continue to consolidate.
Lai reiterated his pledge made during a recent news conference at the Presidential Office to introduce an "initiative on semiconductor supply chain partnerships for global democracies." He expressed hope that Taiwan could serve as a base linking the capabilities of democratic partners, allowing each to play a suitable role in the semiconductor industry chain and develop its strengths.
Lai called on democratic nations to "come closer in solidarity" at the forum, where discussions focused on Ukraine's future following talks between U.S. and Russian officials. Several speakers at the forum expressed concern over U.S. President Donald Trump's recent claims that Ukraine was responsible for the war with Russia, a drastic shift in the U.S. stance over the past three years, and their implications for Taiwan.
While Lai did not dwell on this subject, he cited Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru's opposition to any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion across the Taiwan Strait in a joint statement earlier this month. He noted China's sustained political and military intimidation against Taiwan and affirmed that the people of Taiwan "will stand firm and safeguard our national sovereignty, maintain our free and democratic way of life, and uphold peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."
Joseph Wu, secretary-general of the National Security Council, commented on the situation in Ukraine during a talk later the same day, stressing that the situation in Taiwan is different. Wu, who served as foreign minister for most of former President Tsai Ing-wen's two four-year terms, appeared optimistic, suggesting that Washington is shifting its focus from Europe to the Indo-Pacific region to address challenges posed by the People's Republic of China.
"Some of the key Trump administration officials, they've been talking about pulling out of Europe for quite some time. And the objective of pulling out of Europe is to concentrate their resources in the Indo-Pacific to deal with one specific country, that is the PRC," Wu said.