More Madness Stemming from Washington
Calls for bombing Taiwan's semiconductor industry and expanding NATO into the Asia Pacific are the latest insane policies to gain ground in Washington.
In recent weeks, and more broadly, over the past couple of years, an idea has gained significant traction among the foreign policy elite in Washington D.C. regarding how the U.S. could potentially respond to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan: bombing Taiwan’s Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in order to prevent Beijing from seizing the industry.
The idea is deranged and outlandish, but in Washington, absurd policies and ideas thrive. Recently, Democratic congressman Seth Moulton advocated for bombing Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, painting the move as a completely reasonable approach that could deter China from carrying out an invasion of the island. The U.S. should be “making it very clear to the Chinese that if you invade Taiwan, we’re going to blow up TSMC,” Moulton said during a recent conference.
After receiving pushback from fellow panelist Michele Flournoy, of all people, the representative from Massachusetts responded by saying that blowing up the TSMC is a policy that is “actively being debated amongst U.S. policymakers.” Taiwan, meanwhile, is none too pleased with Moulton’s remarks. “It is the military’s obligation to defend Taiwan and we will not tolerate any others blowing up our facilities,” Taiwanese Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said in response.
Moulton is not the only one to suggest this policy publicly. In March, former national security advisor Robert O’Brien called for bombing the semiconductor industry as well. “The United States and its allies are never going to let those factories fall into Chinese hands,” O’Brien said. A paper published by the US Army War College in 2021 promoted a similar strategy, suggesting that “the United States and Taiwan should lay plans for a targeted scorched-earth strategy that would render Taiwan not just unattractive” if Beijing takes over but also unimaginably “costly to maintain.”
Suffice it to say, the U.S. bombing Taiwan, a supposed ally, would open the eyes of the Taiwanese to what America’s motives truly are. On the other hand, as Flournoy briefly mentioned, the strategy, if carried out, would have severe economic repercussions globally as TSMC produces the majority of the world’s semiconductors. Whether or not the Biden administration would actually carry it out is a question of its own, but there is no doubt it is actively being debated as a serious approach if China invades.
That this potential method is even gaining momentum and could manifest into reality is glaringly indicative of the fact that the U.S. doesn’t care about Taiwan. In the grand scheme of things, Taiwan and its people are but small pawns in the eyes of the American empire. Clearly, the notion that the U.S. must destroy Taiwan in order to defend the island from Beijing is utterly preposterous.
Currently, TSMC is in the midst of completing the construction of one of its newest semiconductor plants in Arizona, a multi-billion-dollar project that was announced in 2020, possibly due to pressure from the U.S. government. In August 2022, during Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, she held a lunch with the two top TSMC executives, no doubt discussing at length the need to expand more of TSMC’s plants into the United States. Days later, the CHIPS and Science Act was signed into law by President Biden, allocating $280 billion toward domestic chip manufacturing and research.
These moves could very well be emblematic of a more grandiose plan to relocate more of TSMC’s resources into the U.S. and, on the other hand, bomb TSMC plants back in Taiwan if China does carry out a military operation against Taipei.
Expanding NATO’s Influence into the Asia Pacific
On May 3, it was reported by Nikkei Asia that NATO is working on plans to open a “liaison office” in Japan next year, permitting “the military alliance to conduct periodic consultations with Japan and key partners in the region, such as South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand as China emerges as a new challenge, alongside its traditional focus on Russia.” The announcement underscores NATO’s increasing role in the region to combat the influence of China and has the possibility of being a stepping stone to inviting key countries into the military alliance.
Mere days later, a Republican-led resolution was introduced in the House that called for Europe to conform to America’s approach on the issue of Taiwan. The resolution is a broader response to previous comments made by French President Emmanuel Macron in which he advocated for Europe to exercise “strategic autonomy” regarding a potential conflict with China over Taiwan. “The worse thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the U.S. agenda and a Chinese overreaction,” Macron said in the aftermath of his meeting with Xi Jinping in early April.
Despite these comments being one of the wiser things Macron has said in his time as president, the rabid interventionists within the House are furious with America’s ally in France. Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), the leader of the aforementioned resolution, lambasted Macron for his remarks. “It is astonishing to me that the French president would even suggest siding with a communist nation over a democratic one. Our resolution asks our European friends a simple question: Do you side with Taiwan and democratic values, or with an aggressive communist power that threatens the world order?” Miller said.
To be fair, Macron never spoke of siding with China. Macron only highlighted the need for Europe to stay out of affairs that have little to do with the continent, such as a conflict in the Asia Pacific against China.
Supporters of the recent resolution additionally endorsed the idea of expanding NATO to counter China. “It is incumbent on all NATO members to strengthen their involvement with democratic partners in the Indo-Pacific to ensure safety and security in the region,” cosponsor Mike Lawler (R-NY) said in a statement in support of the bill. Various passages within the text teem with language expressing favorability toward proposed NATO expansion.
Beijing, to no surprise, views NATO as a threat, especially after witnessing the catastrophe NATO expansion caused in Ukraine. “NATO’s continued eastward foray into the Asia Pacific and interference in regional affairs will inevitably undermine regional peace and stability and stoke camp confrontation. This calls for high vigilance among regional countries,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.
Putting it lightly, NATO expansion into the Asia Pacific is a horrendous idea. Tensions are already soaring exponentially with the U.S. constantly ignoring the many warnings from Beijing not to interfere in Taiwan. A NATO-infested Asia Pacific will make conflict between the West and China all the more possible, just as a NATO-infested Europe made conflict with Russia a reality.
In addition to the unease over Taiwan, the U.S. carries on unphased in expanding the military to prepare for war. Last week, the U.S. announced President Biden will travel to Papua New Guinea on May 22 to sign new military agreements with the nation, as part of a larger strategy to combat the CCP in the region. This, in addition to Biden sending troops to Taiwan and building a multitude of new bases in the Philippines and Guam, is altogether revealing just how extensive America has recently become militarily in the region.
No Friends, Only Interests
Ultimately, Taiwan is not an ally of the U.S. but another proxy that is currently being utilized in the demented games of the empire. The comments made by U.S. officials discussing the possibility of bombing Taiwan’s semiconductor industry are evidence enough of this assertion.
If we recall the remarks made by officials in the months leading up to the Nord Stream attacks, U.S. policymakers were actively declaring that the Nord Stream pipelines would be obliterated countless times. Now with the TSMC, we have more or less a similar situation. If the U.S. does blow up TSMC, no one should be surprised. After all, various government operatives advocated for it.
Seth Moulton is a junior member of the liberal-fascist Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Michele Flournoy, like SecState Blinken, is a lifetime CFR member and a member of the Trilateral Commission. The CFR network has controlled US policy since WW2.
CFR operatives in the Roosevelt and Truman admins, and in the corporate media, were largely responsible for the communist defeat of Chiang Kai-Shek and the "Chinese Nationalists" after WW2, and their retreat to Taiwan.
My thoughts are that the production is secretly being moved or duplicated in a more secure location. What these officials say are just diversions to confuse their real intentions and activities. There is a plan B and we will never know it.