Gov. Eric Holcomb is making the third trip to Taiwan this month by a U.S. delegation after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi briefly visited, angering China, which considers Taiwan its territory. A week after Pelosi’s visit, five US lawmakers, led by Senator Ed Markey, visited Taiwan. read more Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register China held extensive military exercises near Taiwan after Pelosi’s visit. Taiwan rejects Beijing’s claims of sovereignty, saying only the island’s residents can decide their future. “Taiwan has faced military threats from China, in and around the Taiwan Strait,” Tsai told Holcomb during a meeting in her Taipei office. “Right now, democratic allies must stand together and strengthen cooperation in all areas,” she added, in remarks broadcast live on her social media pages. China has yet to comment on Holcomb’s visit. Holcomb is set to meet representatives of Taiwan’s semiconductor companies during his visit, amid expanding ties between his state and the island, which is home to the world’s largest contact chip maker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) ( 2330.TW). . “Economic security is an important pillar of national and regional security,” Tsai said. “Taiwan is willing and able to strengthen cooperation with democratic partners to build sustainable supply chains for democracy chips.” Holcomb spoke of his state’s efforts to support the technology industry, pointing to a June announcement by Taiwan’s MediaTek Inc ( 2454.TW ), the world’s fourth-largest chip designer by revenue, of a new design center in Indiana in collaboration with Purdue University. “We look forward to working with them in planning for the future,” he said.
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Speaking to reporters later, Holcomb said Taiwan offers some of the best high-tech talent in the world. “We specifically address and seek to turn supply chain pains into supply chain gains. I think the way we get there faster, more sustainably, is to do it together,” he said. Holcomb oversaw the signing of a collaboration agreement between Purdue and Taiwanese electronics contract maker Wistron Corp ( 3231.TW ), with the company’s chairman Simon Lin citing opportunities for cooperation in areas such as cybersecurity and smart factories. Taiwan is keen to show the United States, its most important international backer, that it is a reliable friend as a global chip crisis affects auto production and consumer electronics. Tsai said Indiana is poised to become a center for chip technology after signing into law this month a U.S. law to subsidize the domestic semiconductor industry as it competes with Chinese and other foreign manufacturers. TSMC is building a $12 billion plant in the US state of Arizona. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Sarah Wu. Edited by Christopher Cushing and Clarence Fernandez Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
