Semiconductors News & Analysis

The Strait of Malacca Is Malaysia’s Industrial Spine

Kuala Lumpur on the Strait of Malacca, from space. Modified, European Space Agency, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kuala_Lumpur,_Malaysia_ESA23795482.jpeg

Malacca doesn’t just provide Malaysia with geographic relevance. It also represents industrial opportunity, but only if Kuala Lumpur moves to take advantage of it.

AI with Chinese Characteristics

Generated by Google Gemini AI on May 4, 2026. All flags, maps, and likenesses contained within this image are not necessarily accurate representations of reality.

What does victory for Beijing in the US-China AI competition look like? Tighter control for the CCP at home and elevated criminal, military, censorship, and data security risks abroad.

Defense Industry Is the Missing Link in EU Semiconductor Sovereignty

cc European Parliament, modified, https://www.flickr.com/photos/european_parliament/51988071051

Strategic autonomy in defense cannot exist without autonomy in semiconductors. Europe has begun to recognize this link. The question now is whether Brussels will act with the scale and urgency required to keep pace with global competitors.

East Asia Semiconductors Will Decide the Next US-China Arms Race

The evolution of warfare technologies driven by artificial intelligence demands a shift in NCOs’ leadership approaches. This change means developing the ability to lead teams that integrate human Soldiers and autonomous systems. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Samarion Hicks)

AI-powered military technologies can tilt the balance of power in the US-China rivalry. In this fight, victory is measured in access and supply chain resilience, and no region is more important than East Asia.

Era of Strongman Diplomacy: Lam’s Ascent Reshapes US–Vietnam Ties

Following Russia-Vietnam talks, Vladimir Putin and To Lam made statements for the press. / May 10, 2025 / cc kremlin.ru, modified.

In an era of strongman diplomacy, To Lam’s Vietnam is not tilting toward Washington or Beijing. It is positioning itself to bargain with both — from a position of consolidated strength.

ASEAN’s 2026 Bottleneck: Policy Shocks and Power Limits

ASEAN energy industry; Generated by Google Gemini AI on January 23 2026. All flags, maps, and likenesses contained within this image are not necessarily accurate representations of reality.

The defining risk for Southeast Asia in 2026 is not simply “geopolitics.” It is policy volatility, and it is arriving in tandem with an older, less glamorous constraint: energy infrastructure.

Taiwan Searches for Economic Allies in a Divided World

cc Presidential Office Building, modified, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Lai_Ching-te_20170905.jpg

Taiwan’s drive to diversify international partners reflects the tightrope that middle powers must navigate amidst growing great power competition. In this, the Canada-Taiwan economic cooperation framework can serve as an instructive case for Taipei.

Taiwan in US Strategic Perspective: Lynchpin of the Indo-Pacific

Taiwan abstraction, Generated by Google Gemini AI on September 17, 2025. All flags, maps, and likenesses contained within this image are not necessarily accurate representations of reality.

Taiwan has become a locus of geopolitics, global economic stability, and ideology in the post-Cold War era. This series explores why this small island looms so large in the strategic thinking of Pacific powers, starting with the United States.

The Global AI Rules Race: China’s Strategic Response to US Tech Dominance

Generated by Google Gemini AI on September 4, 2025. All flags, maps, and likenesses contained within this image are not necessarily accurate representations of reality.

The battle over governance, in terms of who sets the rules, norms, and standards, could prove decisive in shaping not just the future of AI, but the global balance of power.

Raising the Stakes: Semiconductors in the Age of Trump

Abstraction of semiconductor fab, Generated by Google Gemini AI on August 21, 2025. All flags, maps, and likenesses contained within this image are not necessarily accurate representations of reality.

Recent moves by the Trump administration underscore how semiconductors have become inseparable from industrial policy, both in the United States and across the G20.

Taiwan and South Korea: Bridging the Cybersecurity Gap

cc 總統府, modified ,04.15 總統出席「CYBERSEC 2025 臺灣資安大會開幕式」 Official Photo by Liu Shu fu / Office of the President https://www.flickr.com/photos/presidentialoffice/54452081727

Facing a shared risk from cyberattacks in ever increasing numbers and sophistication, a golden opportunity exists for Taiwan and South Korea to come together and cooperate on cybersecurity.

From Minerals to Microchips: What Taiwan Can Learn from Ukraine

Taipei skyline. cc Yenting Lin (author), modified, all rights reserved.

The world depends on Taiwan’s semiconductors, but Taiwan’s survival must depend on more than just faith in external intervention.

The Limits of Free Trade: US-China Tensions over Electric Vehicle Sector

Vice President Joe Biden tours the Ener1 Inc. battery factory with CEO Charles Gassenheimer and COO Richard Stanley and is shown a THINK City, an electric car that uses Ener1 batteries, in Greenfield, Indiana, Jan. 26, 2010. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann), modified, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2011/01/26/our-plan-put-one-million-advanced-technology-vehicles-america-s-roads

Mounting US-China trade tensions over electric vehicles illustrates the policy trade-offs between national security, competitiveness, and environmental protection.

Taiwan’s Missing Voice at the UN’s Future Summit

cc 總統府, modified, https://flickr.com/photos/presidentialoffice/30122729571/in/photolist-MTQS3p-QLYPWM-QHGXey-QxUSnS-9tUsrB-KwcAZz-Jn6Fqx-QxUPF9-QADYkV-2mUNuW8-bVLejv-QLYTnz-PuLUh7-QM2dvv-QM5nDe-PuJJkY-abWB85-PxxA9a-6pKdde-QcUUtd-Pxu8wP-W71jjN-PxrQKX-2jeF4VE-JGBPBS-jQ5BMV-Qy25JJ-QxZYZj-QHKip9-PuPFnd-JURsiq-QALjua-QHJPnh-dQFZYc-QHJCe5-WGcdVa-KkuSxV-79fwPT-7wj4U6-7wiZXZ-JB5LKx-2ijAadX-zAFag3-4DTFtZ-7YY6ng-57FKvG-7cXmjy-atz31j-sQe9kV-8RKUhy

Can the UN Summit for the Future hope to advance equitable technological development when the party responsible for some 90% of the global computer chip market is absent?

CHIPS Act Wins the Battle, But Not the Semiconductor War

cc The White House, modified, https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/52517539215

The CHIPS Act buys time for the US semiconductor industry. But if Washington and other Western allies desire a lasting victory, they will have to beat Beijing at its own game.

China’s Export Ban on Semiconductor Inputs

cc UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, modified, https://flickr.com/photos/jsoe/52294855463/in/photolist-2nF7NB2-uGJc1E-rysxwt-2nAXdsy-8ioghi-EHcZC-q4VUEv-2oznkGA-5Tv31q-4QGQLU-qmkMyv-2iRuZaY-4rxovX-bn1L7K-avs5ZJ-q4MUcW-JF6oUu-9dBUpM-6o8M7d-WtzNuu-pMFU16-2iRgQFG-s9t9zT-5vQN1F-avo4j8-avqHqy-qmhoc3-bwucoe-avo4kt-rysxcv-5vQNuV-5vV5zJ-5vQMuK-5vQMUM-5vQNaX-Bgm2AR-rLcrrC-9fpiMk-2ohiA5e-fKM19y-2mDRDbs-2mDQuvb-2mDQvid-2k5z5gc-d9zyEE-pveZsE-5Rk4sh-2ojupae-NUJg6-BVKjx

China's restrictions on gallium and germanium exports threaten to impact the wider global semiconductor industry.

US-China Decoupling: A Double-Edged Sword for South Korea

cc DennisM2, modified, https://flickr.com/photos/dennism2/44610434005/in/photolist-2aY58PT-nfc17w-2cmNSDn-o6fEzV-266h2Js-gbUACX-2fiEk3N-J5LYxM-rEsph2-fwGA3n-nXF9Cs-DFdazY-y6mDU-DSSZuy-qETPAo-oCNZsu-e2KUGY-oT94rr-oUEkyT-ciC5B1-ni2VCs-Bws2tF-28jDogw-oRcsZ7-dT11sU-hP6SBN-5N9ScS-7H5YAp-pVQH31-nJnxZp-mvz37j-enWYcF-wUWRQz-whAq9u-psY4zV-o8a73M-bSSSAg-624n64-enAwt2-aNWoAk-eL5Ntx-hccv3r-oMU47H-fimVds-kzK95L-eR49av-izhNEm-vSWmxq-rJS8gN-frbXmu

The South Korean chip industry is caught in the middle of an intensifying US-China trade war.

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