East Asian Computer Chip War

The semiconductor industry is a vital industry for military establishments worldwide, and the control of, or loss of control of, this key industry has enormous strategic implications. This book focuses on the globalization of the strategic semiconductor industry and the security ramifications of this process. It examines in particular the migration of the Taiwanese chip industry to China as part of the globalization of production processes, and the extent to which such a globalization process poses security challenges to the United States, China and Taiwan. Transcending disciplinary boundaries between international political economy, security studies, and the history of science and technology, this multidisciplinary work provides an in-depth understanding of the globalization-security nexus, and disentangles the key policy issues connected to a potential explosive flashpoint in world politics today.

"The semiconductor industry is central to economic and military power and its migration from Taiwan to the mainland of China has complicated the China-Taiwan-United States security triangle. Using cases studies, sectoral studies, and more than 150 interviews, Monique Chu analyzes the impact of globalization on security with depth and rigor." – Adam Segal, Council on Foreign Relations, New York, U.S.A."Monique Chu is to be commended for her exhaustive efforts to shine a bright and rigorous academic light into an important but dimly understood corner of the nexus between economic, security, and technological dynamics in the China-Taiwan relationship and, ultimately, China’s quest for technological development. This study offers a wealth of insights gleaned from myriad interviews with policy makers and industry participants." – Tai Ming Cheung, University of California San Diego, U.S.A."No sector is more important within the value chain of global firms than the semiconductor industry. The sector is centrally important within the information technology sector as a whole, which has transformed business and daily life in the modern world. It is critically important not only for commercial firms, but it also for firms in the military sector. Many of key parts of the semi-conductor industry have dual use applications in both the commercial and the military sectors. It forms the foundation of new forms of warfare. The relationship between the semi-conductor industry in the United States, the Chinese Mainland and Taiwan, is one of most sensitive and important parts of the global business system. Through immense energy and skill, Dr Chu managed to penetrate deep inside the semi-conductor industry in the United States, the Chinese Mainland and Taiwan. The result is a remarkable piece of research that sheds deep light on this little-studied but critically important industry. Her book is path-breaking." – Peter Nolan, Professor and Director of the Centre of Development Studies at the University of Cambridge, UK and Director of the Chinese Executive Leadership Programme (CELP).

Ming-chin Monique Chu completed her PhD in international studies at the University of Cambridge, UK. She is a research fellow at St Antony's College and a postdoctoral research officer in Taiwan Studies, School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies, at the University of Oxford, UK.Peter Nolan, who writes the foreword, is a Professor and Director of the Centre of Development Studies at the University of Cambridge, UK and Director of the Chinese Executive Leadership Programme (CELP).