India and the US-China chips war
New Delhi has positioned itself as a player in the critical semiconductor technology field with a hugely significant partnership with the US. But it must make up for the 2-4-decade delayed start — and negotiate the formidable challenges that lie ahead
The expansive new US-India technology partnership forged during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington DC identifies technology as the new geopolitical frontier. A key element of the partnership is the resolve to diversify the global semiconductor supply chain, which is at the centre of the rivalry between the world’s number 1 and 2 economic powers, the US and China.
Chips, the ‘new oil’
Semiconductors or chips are essential to almost every modern device, from a phone to advanced defence systems, not to speak of advanced artificial intelligence-powered machines. But only a few countries are in the business of making chips, among the world’s most advanced technologies, and some specialise only in some aspects of it. The Covid-19 pandemic exposed the US dependence on supply chains in Asia — four of the top chip makers in the world are Taiwanese — at the same time as the trade and diplomatic war between Washington and Beijing and military tensions in the Taiwan Strait spiked.
Following a media report on an alleged White House contingency plan to destroy the world’s largest chip making factory in Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, The South China Morning Post last October ran a headline, “Chips are the new oil and Taiwan is the new Saudi Arabia”.
