Moulton Not First to Float Idea of U.S. Bombing Taiwan's TSMC as Form of Deterrent for China
The US Army War College wrote in 2021 that an automatic mechanism might be designed, which would be triggered once an invasion was confirmed.
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Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., who floated the idea that the U.S. could deter China from invading Taiwan by threatening to blow up the island’s prized chip-making factory essentially repeated a theory that has already been published.
In 2021, the US Army War College published a paper about the tension between the U.S. and China over Taiwan and laid out some possible deterrent strategies, including a “scorched-earth strategy that would render Taiwan not just unattractive if ever seized by force, but positively costly to maintain.”
“This could be done most effectively by threatening to destroy facilities belonging to the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the most important chipmaker in the world and China’s most important supplier,” the paper read. It continued, “An automatic mechanism might be designed, which would be triggered once an invasion was confirmed. In addition, Taiwan’s leaders could make it known now they will not allow these industries to fall into the hands of an adversary.”
Moulton floated the idea of bombing the facility while attending a conference at the Milken Institute earlier this month. Moulton insisted during the conference that he was not promoting the idea but acknowledged that “these are some of the things that are actually actively being debated amongst US policymakers.”
Moulton’s office did not immediately respond to an email from The Trends Journal. He reportedly told a news outlet that “The CCP selectively clipped my comments, spread them on social media, and attempted to undermine the U.S.-Taiwan partnership."
UNEDITED: WATCH MOULTON AT 36:22
MOULTON: Well, one of the interesting ideas out there that has been floated out for deterrence is just making it very clear to the Chinese that if you invade Taiwan, we’re going to blow up TSMC. I just throw that out because, not necessarily that that’s the best strategy.
TAIWAN: WE WON’T LET U.S. BOMB THE FACILITY
We noted yesterday that Moulton was with Michele Flournoy, who started WestExec Advisers with Antony Blinken, the secretary of state in 2017.
Flournoy quickly shot down his comments and said if TSMC was destroyed, there would be a "two trillion dollar impact on the global economy within the first year" and "you'd put manufacturing around the world at a standstill."
Indeed, the U.S. Army War College’s paper also noted that destroying the facility would be disastrous for the economy.
“If Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s facilities went offline, companies around the globe would find it difficult to continue operations. This development would mean China’s high-tech industries would be immobilized at precisely the same time the nation was embroiled in a massive war effort,” the paper read.