ASML Holding NV and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) have the ability to disable the world’s most sophisticated chipmaking machines in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. This information comes from sources familiar with the matter.
U.S. government officials have privately expressed concerns to both their Dutch and Taiwanese counterparts about what happens if Chinese aggression escalates into an attack on Taiwan. Taiwan is responsible for producing the vast majority of the world’s advanced semiconductors.
ASML reassured officials about its ability to remotely disable the machines when the Dutch government met with the company on the threat. The Netherlands has run simulations on a possible invasion to better assess the risks.
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 as well as more sensitive military applications.
ASML’s technology has long been subject to government interventions aimed at preventing it from falling into the wrong hands. The Netherlands prohibits the company from selling EUV machines to China, for instance, because of U.S. fears they could lend its rival an edge in the global chip war.
Read more: Bloomberg