Trade in technology will have to be conducted by keeping in mind “where and with whom to do it”, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar said on July 30. Presenting a comprehensive outlook on the Government of India’s policy on semiconductors at the SemiconIndia Conference 2023, Dr. Jaishankar highlighted a wide variety of engagements between India and its Quad partners — the U.S., Japan and Australia — and said that India’s semiconductor mission is not limited to the domestic demand, and that it also aims to meet global requirement.
“Technology trade is not just trade; it is as much as about political science. The truth is that we are seeing the re-emergence of export controls as a response to strategic assertions of economic strength. How to do business needs to be tempered with where and with whom to do it,” Dr. Jaishankar said, presenting the core idea behind India’s push to create a new supply chain of semiconductors that is currently dominated by Taiwan, whose sovereignty is questioned by China.
The EAM, however, did not mention China in his presentation.
Semiconductors are miniscule chips essential for manufacturing devices that drive the digital era, and have emerged at the core of an economic and diplomatic power play, often described as the ‘chip war’ between China and the United States, one of the four major partners of the Quadrilateral security arrangement or ‘Quad’.
It is feared that a possible escalation in military tension between mainland China and Taiwan will jeopardise the global semiconductors supply chain, which can cripple multi-sectoral digital structures worldwide.
Dr. Jaishankar on Sunday argued that a “self-reliant India will ipso facto be self reliant in semiconductor production”, hinting that India is moving in a direction to safeguard its vital economic and strategic interests from any global or regional disruption of the semiconductor supply chain. “The depiction of a ‘chip war’ may be somewhat overstated, but it has more than a fundamental kernel of truth,” he said.
The senior Minister highlighted Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET), and said this domain “should now emerge as one of the important metrics of power”.
“Who invents, who manufacturers, what are the market shares, where are the resources, who has the skills, where is the talent pool — these are increasingly the crucial questions,” Dr. Jaishankar said, reflecting closely classical arguments of political power first presented by 20th century American political theorist Harold Lasswell.
He shed light on the ongoing semiconductor-related exchanges between India and the U.S., and said American companies Micron Technology, Lam Research, and Applied Materials have made “specific commitments”. India and the U.S. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on ‘Semiconductor Supply Chain’ during the India visit of U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo in March, and the issue found prominence during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s June visit to the U.S. as a state guest.
Dr. Jaishankar highlighted the importance of the Minerals Security Partnership that India joined in June. India joined the 14-member grouping led by the U.S. in an attempt that will help emerging sectors like electric vehicles and new age electronics.
“India’s entry as the latest member of the Minerals Security Partnership is worth noting, given the importance today of diversifying and securing supply chains in that area,” Dr. Jaishankar said.
Along with the U.S., he mentioned Japan and Australia, both of which have joined India in a quest for an alternative supply chain for semiconductors.
In the Hiroshima meeting of Quad leaders, an agreement was reached on Critical and Emerging Technology Standards. “The intent was to foster technology standards that support safety, security, and resilience. These voluntary principles were meant to assist governments and organisations develop appropriate standards, and it is clearly the Quad’s expectation that many other nations would join them in that regard,” Dr. Jaishankar remarked, focusing on the convergence between the technology policy of the Quad and India.
