Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Hours after Taiwan’s crown jewel company promised that it would invest an extra $100bn in the US, President Donald Trump gave a chilling reminder of why so many in the Asian country are keen to seek his favour.Trump’s apparent readiness to abandon Kyiv, suspending military aid to Ukraine after bluntly telling President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday that he didn’t “have the cards” in US-brokered peace talks, has left many Taiwanese worried that Trump could abandon their country, leaving it to the mercy of China.Some in Taiwan hope its dominant semiconductor sector could help keep the country in Trump’s good graces. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, which produces 90 per cent of the world’s most advanced chips, late on Monday pledged to raise its investment in Arizona from $65bn to $165bn.“We need to put our bargaining chips on the table,” said Lo Chih-cheng, a former lawmaker from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive party. “Taiwan’s strategic importance is much bigger than that of Ukraine, and that we have a central role in the global chip industry supply chain.”In comments to reporters on Monday before TSMC’s announcement Taiwan’s defence minister Wellington Koo acknowledged that “you cannot just talk about values and neglect national interests”.“Of course, the US also wants to prioritise its national interests,” he said. Taiwan must ask itself “if safeguarding peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and the status quo in . . . the Taiwan Strait is a core US interest”.For Taiwan, US backing is at least as vital as it is for Ukraine. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and threatens to annex it by force if Taipei refuses to submit to its control indefinitely.The US has for decades helped protect Taiwan against that threat. Under the Taiwan Relations Act, Washington regards attempts to determine Taiwan’s future by non-peaceful means as an issue of grave concern to the US. It also commits to providing Taipei with defensive weapons and maintaining its own capacity to resist coercion that would jeopardise Taiwan’s security.But Trump has shown little personal affection for Taiwan, repeatedly accusing the country of “stealing” the US semiconductor business and freeriding on its security support.According to his former national security adviser John Bolton, Trump was “dyspeptic” about Taiwan, comparing it to the tip of his pen and China to his massive desk.The initial signals from the White House on Monday were promising. At a friendly joint appearance, a triumphant Trump told TSMC chair CC Wei that the chipmaker was “ahead of the game” because its US-made chips would avoid looming tariffs on imported semiconductors.He seemed even more pleased when Wei repeatedly thanked him for the “opportunity” — a stark contrast to the clash with Zelenskyy, who was admonished for failing to adequately display gratitude.But there are questions over how long the deal will satisfy Washington. Trump administration officials have previously pressed TSMC to help run fabrication plants for Intel, which has fallen behind in cutting-edge manufacturing; make equity investments in Intel; or spin off its US operations into a company with a US government stake, according to people familiar with the situation.Taiwan’s security has long been intertwined with its chip manufacturing might. Its government and public believe that as long as the US and other democracies remain dependent on its supplies, they will be more willing to help defend the country against a Chinese attack.“Taiwan should be careful: If the ‘silicon shield’ really exists, wouldn’t passing the most advanced technology to the US make it brittle?” said Huang Kwei-bo, professor of diplomacy at National ChengChi University in Taipei.The TSMC deal appeared to substantiate those concerns. The company said its new investment would include a research and development centre in Arizona. Previously, TSMC had insisted on keeping R&D concentrated in Taiwan, which the government also sees as crucial.President Lai Ching-te’s office on Tuesday said the government, which needs to approve the investment, would assist TSMC but would also do “gatekeeping” to ensure the most advanced technology remained at home.Trump further fanned those fears when he said the investment would put “a big part of [TSMC’s chip manufacturing] in the US”, allowing the company to “diversify to a very safe place”, which would “have a big impact if something should happen” with Taiwan.According to a poll released last week by an opposition-backed foundation which Huang runs, 85 per cent of respondents opposed the transfer of TSMC’s 2 nanometre production technology to the US. More than 60 per cent believe the US has the upper hand in negotiations with Taiwan.They have reason to. Taiwan’s trade surplus with the US widened by $26.1bn to $73.9bn last year — partly due to booming artificial intelligence chip exports — opening up another flank to the US president’s planned “reciprocal” tariffs.Lai has pledged to increase defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP, as well as increase investment and procurement from the US.State-owned oil company CPC could step up liquefied natural gas spot market buying from the US, raising its proportion of total imports from the US from 9.5 per cent to 25 per cent, according to people familiar with the considerations.Separately, Taiwanese and US officials are working on an arms procurement package worth up to $10bn, including Himars rocket launchers, command, control and intelligence systems and equipment for strengthening the reserve force. Taipei aims to submit a draft special budget for the package later this year — an unusually short timeline.Taipei has also promised to encourage its tech manufacturing sector to increase US investment, such as through a government-backed industrial park modelled on Taiwan’s science parks. Some US officials also see potential for equity investments by Taiwanese precision parts and machine tool makers to help strengthen the struggling US defence supply chain.Apart from economic inducements, Taiwan hopes its strategic position, in an island chain off the Chinese coast with Japan and the Philippines, will ensure Washington’s commitment.Koo, the defence minister, said the Indo-Pacific region remained a core US interest. Safeguarding the status quo in the Taiwan Strait was a “common goal” for Taipei and Washington, he added, echoing Trump’s words that the countries were jointly pursuing “peace through strength”.But many Taiwanese remain wary.“Who knows what Trump will do once he negotiates with [Chinese leader] Xi Jinping?” asked the chief executive of a major Taiwanese technology company who preferred to remain anonymous. “He could say: ‘If you balance our $295bn trade deficit, we’ll give you Taiwan.’”
