Apple chip plants can’t be moved, despite China’s war games, says TSMC

TSMC’s Apple chip plants cannot be moved off the island, the company has said, despite ever-growing fears of a Chinese invasion.

The chipmaker’s chairman C.C. Wei said that it had held talks with “some customers” about the idea following China carrying out war-game exercises around the island, but that it simply isn’t practical …

The ever-growing fear of a Chinese invasion

As if Russia’s invasion of Ukraine weren’t enough of a problem for world leaders, an additional concern was that the action might embolden China’s ambition to invade Taiwan.

US and UK security services later gave an “unprecedented warning” that this was a real possibility. Those fears were heightened when China actually rehearsed a military blockade of the island – the likely first step toward an invasion – and again when China announced plans to reach new military heights by 2027, the 100th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army.

General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said Beijing may want to be ready for an invasion of Taiwan by that year.

Since then, China has carried out further military exercises in the waters around Taiwan, seemingly role-playing the steps it would take in the run-up to an invasion.

Apple chip plants can’t be moved

While Wei didn’t name the customers who had asked the question, Apple is certain to be one of them. The iPhone maker accounts for roughly half of TSMC’s business.

Reuters reports the remarks, made after the company’s AGM.

“Instability across the Taiwan Straits is indeed a consideration for supply chain, but I want to say that we certainly do not want wars to happen,” Wei told reporters after the company’s annual general meeting.

He said it would be impossible to move chip factories out of the island, given that 80-90% of its production capacity is in Taiwan.

The company has, however, made contingency plans to ensure that China would not be able to use its plants in the event of an invasion.

With 100% of Apple’s A-series and M-series chips made by TSMC, the remarks again emphasize the importance of building US plants with more advanced capabilities – but this is a process which takes years to implement.