TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — U.S. Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has said if elected, the U.S. will defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion “at least until we achieve semiconductor independence,” slightly softening his previous stance, in which he said that he would only defend Taiwan until 2028.

Speaking to Fox News on Friday (Aug. 25), Ramaswamy said he would abandon the U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan and "move beyond that to strategic clarity. We will defend Taiwan, at least until we have semiconductor independence in this country, at which point we will reevaluate," he stated.

Ramaswamy was pressed on comments he made on Aug. 14, when he said the U.S.’s “strong commitment” to Taiwan would only last until 2028, by which point he expects the U.S. to obtain semiconductor independence. He said China has two reasons for wanting to annex Taiwan: dominance over the semiconductor supply chain and “unfinished nationalistic business dating back to their civil war in 1949."

“And if that’s the sole basis for Xi Jinping going after Taiwan after we have semiconductor independence, then you know what? I am not going to send our sons and daughters to die over that conflict,” Ramaswamy said.

Experts say Ramaswamy’s goal of achieving semiconductor independence for the U.S. within the next five years is extremely unlikely.

The two main tools the U.S. is using to improve industry competitiveness are US$280 billion in funding provided by the 2022 CHIPS Act and export controls on advanced semiconductor technologies to China. However, research from a U.S. think tank published in 2022 said the country does not have the foundation upon which to begin constructing a world-leading semiconductor industry.

Speaking to Taiwan News on Aug. 16, Director of the Taiwan Center for Security Studies and former Chair of the Research and Planning Committee of Taiwan’s foreign ministry Fu-kuo Liu (劉復國) said the most advanced chips are still produced in Taiwan, and Ramaswamy’s plan is too optimistic.

Liu noted TSMC founder Morris Chang’s (張忠謀) assessment that it would take the U.S. at least 10 years to reach the point Taiwan is currently at in semiconductor manufacturing, and within those 10 years, TSMC and Taiwan’s semiconductor technology will become more advanced too. He also said that shifting from strategic ambiguity comes with its own risks.

If a U.S. president shifts to strategic clarity on Taiwan, their successor may not be able to shift back to ambiguity, Liu said. “I think it may be better for us all to maintain a certain ambiguity and possibility for flexible growth,” he said.

Ramaswamy is vying to be the Republican Party’s pick to run in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. He is currently polling in third for the nomination behind Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis and has been trending upward in the polls over the past months.

In April, Ramaswamy outlined another plan for Taiwan’s defense, which was to give every family an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a suggestion he repeated in the Aug. 14 interview. The idea was dismissed by Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) in April, who said there was no such plan to arm Taiwanese citizens.