TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei plans to keep production of the most advanced chips at home even as its semiconductor industry works to offshore production facilities in the US, Japan, and other partner nations.

In an interview with AFP earlier this week, Deputy Foreign Minister Wu Chih-chung (吳志中) said Taiwan recognizes its role at the center of the globe’s supply chain for critical technologies. Taiwan will ensure that it remains “indispensable” to this supply chain by safeguarding the domestic production of the world’s most advanced computer chips.

In a press release, the foreign ministry offered further clarification of Wu’s remarks. The ministry said that in response to military pressure from China and logistical constraints, companies like TSMC are diversifying production and reducing risk by establishing new fabs overseas.

The ministry said that despite major investments in the US, Japan, and Germany, these production facilities will remain closely linked to Taiwan. Given the unique conditions of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, research and development for cutting-edge chips must remain in Taiwan.

Wu added that if China did launch an attack on Taiwan, he believes the US would consider it an issue of national security and would respond accordingly, per AFP. In addition to the semiconductor industry, freedom of navigation and regional security are core interests on which Taiwan and the US are aligned.

The ministry’s statement on Saturday added that the real solution to safeguarding Taiwan and the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem is to prevent conflict altogether.