China’s Taiwan War Games Become Latest Threat To Backlogged Global Supply Chain
Chinese military exercises in and around the Taiwan Strait are backing up supply chains and highlighting what could be a considerable additional burden to global shipping if hostilities broke out between China and Taiwan, according to France 24.
China launched its largest-ever military drills around Taiwan on Thursday in and around some of the world’s most vital shipping routes used to transport semiconductors, natural gas and other critical goods, France 24 reported. Almost half of the world’s container ships travel through the Taiwan Strait on an annual basis, including 90% of the world’s largest ships by tonnage, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“Given that much of the world’s container fleet passes through that waterway, there will inevitably be disruptions to global supply chains due to the rerouting,” James Char, an associate research fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told France 24.
https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/1555121585035657217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The drills come as retaliation to U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan earlier this week, and the Chinese military has directly warned ships to stay clear of the area in which its conducting exercises, according to the WSJ.
Disruptions are not limited to sea lanes, France 24 reported; 400 flights have been cancelled at Chinese airports near Taiwan, also forcing shippers to scramble.
Analysts surveyed by the WSJ discounted the prospects of continued disruptions, because, according to the chief analyst of maritime data provider Xeneta, Peter Sand, “any major disruption will affect the Chinese merchant fleet as well.”
“It’s in no one’s interest to escalate the tension and the expectation is for a return to normal, starting next week,” Sand added.
But the flare-up has caused some commentators to consider the prospects of a long-term disruption, or even a Chinese takeover of Taiwan.
Taiwan is the leading exporter of chips worldwide.
A war with China could shut down much of the global supply chain for anything needing computer chips. pic.twitter.com/8LzrRuKsQo
— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) August 2, 2022
Of particular concern is the continued supply of global semiconductors, since 90% of the world’s cutting-edge chip capacity comes from Taiwan, according to the Financial Times.
These chips are used for virtually all of the electronic devices that power the modern economy, including smartphones, radios, TVs, computers, video games and advanced medical diagnostic equipment, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.
“In the event of a disaster that actually shut down Taiwan for a period of time, really I don’t know how the global supply chain for the tech industry could survive,” Dan Nystedt, vice-president at TriOrient Investments, told the Financial Times.
The global supply chain had reached historically high levels of stress since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic due to lockdowns, port closures and the war in Ukraine. The New York Federal Reserve’s Global Supply Chain Pressure Index suggests that supply chain stresses in July were down more than 50% from last December’s record high — though still elevated above pre-pandemic levels, according to Reuters.
The Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration nor Taiwan’s largest chip producer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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We’re in a Cold War with China that they’ve already won and most Americans are ignorant because the Politicians want them to be or, like the Biden’s, are being paid to be silent. In fact, Biden is so weak, feckless and compromised to China that they can threaten to shoot down U.S. planes if they dare to go to Taiwan and Biden says nothing! Probably because of the millions he and his son got in illegal “pay for play” deals when he was VP.
80% of our pharmaceutical ingredients come from China as well as most of our antibiotics, and 80% of the lithium battery market and almost all of our solar panels. Most of our computer chips (that are vital for everything from our military equipment, cars, obviously computers, infrastructure and even all our appliances) come from either China and mostly Taiwan. There are over 300,000 Chinese students in American Universities (getting advanced degrees in science and technology, not gender studies) where many end up employed in our government and are obligated, by Chinese law, to spy for the CCP if asked. The Chinese are allowed to buy huge amounts of American farmland and whatever corporations they want. Smithfield ham (which was America’s largest pork producer) is now owned by the Chinese. Eric Swalwell (who is on the House “intelligence committee”) slept with a Chinese spy and was never investigated or suffered any consequences. Diane Feinstein had a Chinese spy in her staff for twenty years with no investigation or consequence.
China is constantly increasing its military capabilities including hypersonic missiles that we don’t even have. Their army is way larger than ours and now so is their Navy. We can’t even meet 40% of our recruiting goals for all the armed forces, yet we are about to discharge a hundred thousand (included elite Navy SEALS and Army Rangers) because they aren’t vaccinated. Meanwhile we are teaching CRT to soldiers, paying for transgender surgeries, and in recruiting ads, they are painting “rainbow bullets” on Marine helmets. The Chinese are rolling on the ground laughing.
All the Democrats and “Elites” who constantly scream to us about “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” bow to the least diverse nation on earth who, incidentally, follows no international environmental regulations (building coal fired electric plants as fast as they can) and are practicing genocide against their population of 12 million Uyghurs. Do you think China give a damn about “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” or transgender or LGBQT rights? Our biggest corporations (i.e. Disney, Nike, Coke, the NBA) and “woke” athletes and Hollywood also bow to the Chinese and are required (by the Chinese) to say nothing negative about them or their policies. Why? Follow the money. They all salivate about selling their products and getting rich off of the potential sales in a country of 1.5 billion people instead of the comparatively small market in the U.S. of just 330 million. Never mind that if things continue on this trend the Chinese will eventually take all their money and their grandchildren will end up speaking Mandarin….