AMSTERDAM - ASML Holding and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) have ways to disable the world’s most sophisticated chipmaking machines in the event that China invades Taiwan, according to people familiar with the matter.
Officials from the US government have privately expressed concerns to both their Dutch and Taiwanese counterparts about what happens if Chinese aggression escalates into an attack on the island responsible for producing the vast majority of the world’s advanced semiconductors, two of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
ASML reassured officials about its ability to remotely disable the machines when the Dutch government met the company on the threat, two other sources said.
The Netherlands has run simulations on a possible invasion in order to better assess the risks, they added.
Spokespeople for ASML, TSMC and the Dutch trade ministry declined to comment.
Spokespeople for the White House National Security Council, US Department of Defence and US Department of Commerce did not respond to e-mailed requests for comment.
The remote shut-off applies to Netherlands-based ASML’s line of extreme ultraviolet machines, known within the industry as EUVs, for which TSMC is its single biggest client.
EUVs harness high-frequency light waves to print the smallest microchip transistors in existence – creating chips that have artificial intelligence uses and more sensitive military applications.
https://www.straitstimes.com/busine...disable-chip-machines-if-china-invades-taiwan
