4 ms·

Are you saying that once the US has moved TSMC over to the US then the US will stop caring about Taiwan?

by FooBarWidget 3y ago

Macha 3y ago
I think there's a good chance of markedly decreased interest, yes.
nerfbatplz 3y ago
Is that not obvious? The US State department is pretty clear about their self-serving intentions.
breadwinner 3y ago
“America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests” ― Henry Kissinger
- adventured 3y ago
  That's not something that Kissinger has ever gotten to decide and he has historically been frequently wrong. Kissinger is about as meaningless of a reference point as you could use in that sphere. He hasn't had potent influence over US foreign policy in over four decades. They barely pay attention to anything he has said in the last several decades, and the left certainly ignores him. Might as well quote Robert E Lee on US policy.
  - breadwinner 3y ago
    I interpreted that quote as more of an observation by Kissinger, as opposed to statement of official US foreign policy.
eternalban 3y ago
It was never about the chips. The technology is strategic but can possibly be replicated. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_island_chain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_island_chain China is surprisingly confined in its waters. Strange as it seems with all that coast line, China (and thus a huge chunk of world trade) has to transit confined sea pathways before it can reach oceans. Conversely, should China ever gain control over Taiwan, that fact and the implied retreat of Western navies (US primarily) from those waters would make China's Navy the guarantor of the global (trade) order in its most important economic region. Today, it is the US Navy that fills that role. Geography remains hugely important in shaping history. Per some views, the very rise of Europe was primarily due to navigational advances. Technologies that allowed circumventing strategic geographical realities that had stood for thousands of years: the land corridors of Asia and the Mediterranian sea & ports.

Are you saying that once the US has moved TSMC over to the US then the US will stop caring about Taiwan?

Macha 3y ago

I think there's a good chance of markedly decreased interest, yes.

nerfbatplz 3y ago

Is that not obvious? The US State department is pretty clear about their self-serving intentions.

breadwinner 3y ago

“America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests” ― Henry Kissinger

adventured 3y ago
That's not something that Kissinger has ever gotten to decide and he has historically been frequently wrong. Kissinger is about as meaningless of a reference point as you could use in that sphere. He hasn't had potent influence over US foreign policy in over four decades. They barely pay attention to anything he has said in the last several decades, and the left certainly ignores him. Might as well quote Robert E Lee on US policy.
- breadwinner 3y ago
  I interpreted that quote as more of an observation by Kissinger, as opposed to statement of official US foreign policy.

eternalban 3y ago

It was never about the chips. The technology is strategic but can possibly be replicated. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_island_chain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_island_chain China is surprisingly confined in its waters. Strange as it seems with all that coast line, China (and thus a huge chunk of world trade) has to transit confined sea pathways before it can reach oceans. Conversely, should China ever gain control over Taiwan, that fact and the implied retreat of Western navies (US primarily) from those waters would make China's Navy the guarantor of the global (trade) order in its most important economic region. Today, it is the US Navy that fills that role. Geography remains hugely important in shaping history. Per some views, the very rise of Europe was primarily due to navigational advances. Technologies that allowed circumventing strategic geographical realities that had stood for thousands of years: the land corridors of Asia and the Mediterranian sea & ports.