A new $12 billion semiconductor factory in Phoenix has created a strategic link between Arizona and Taiwan, a connection reinforced by the F-16 pilot training program already operating in the state. Arizona Governor Doug Ducey met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei on Thursday to celebrate Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s investment in the facility, which will produce advanced chips and create 2,000 jobs. Many of those future employees will undergo training in Taiwan before the plant begins operations.
The factory represents the visible part of a deeper relationship. Arizona already hosts a base where Taiwanese pilots train to fly F-16 fighter jets, aircraft that would be used to defend the island against a potential Chinese blockade or invasion.
The same state that will manufacture Taiwan’s most sophisticated semiconductors is also helping prepare the personnel who would protect the island. Governor Ducey described this as a strategic alignment rather than coincidence, noting that both Arizona and Taiwan share strengths in technology and advanced manufacturing. “Both Arizona and Taiwan are global semiconductor leaders and it is in this industry where our partnership is the greatest,” he said.
He added that the investment “has elevated the potential of what’s possible between Arizona and Taiwan.” Beijing condemned the visit, as it has with previous trips by U.S. political leaders to Taipei. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and opposes all official foreign contacts with the island.
Each such visit draws the same sharp condemnation, yet each continues to occur. President Tsai framed the economic partnership as a response to rising authoritarianism. Without naming China directly, she conveyed that democracies build together while authoritarian powers threaten that construction.
The stakes are concrete. Taiwan is the world’s leading producer of advanced semiconductors, which power everything from smartphones to fighter jets.
A Chinese takeover of the island would give Beijing control of the global chip supply chain. This reality drives the United States to pull Taiwan closer through investments and training programs. Arizona plans to open a state representative office in Taipei, and the two sides have signed an agreement on higher education cooperation.
These actions create infrastructure for a deeper relationship, making separation more difficult and costly. Governor Ducey did not mention China in his public remarks.
The $12 billion Phoenix plant, the F-16 training base in Arizona, and the planned representative office in Taipei communicate the message without words. China watches and objects, but the chips continue to be built, the pilots continue to train, and the offices continue to open. What is at risk is not abstract concepts of sovereignty or territorial integrity, but a factory in the Arizona desert, jobs for 2,000 people, fighter pilots who will fly missions over the Taiwan Strait, and a supply chain that runs from Taipei to Phoenix to every phone, server, and weapons system in the United States.
Break that chain and the world changes. Keep it intact and the world remains dependent on a small island that produces the components everything else relies on.
