 [Aljazeera] Taipei, Taiwan — Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Taiwan’s security has been on the lips of policymakers and analysts the world over, amid predictions China could one day follow Moscow’s lead and attempt to take over the island nation.
Both Taiwan and Ukraine are young democracies, whose national identity and political independence face the threat of aggression from a neighbouring superpower.
Taiwan, however, has a little-discussed secret weapon that Ukraine did not have — a dominance in manufacturing semiconductors that some analysts say could prove crucial in deterring an invasion by Beijing.
An invasion of Taiwan could trigger unprecedented global economic fallout due to the island’s position as arguably the most vulnerable single point of failure in the technology value chain.
Taipei’s "silicon shield" makes the stakes especially high for China. While Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to reclaim the self-ruled island by force if necessary, Beijing relies heavily on Taiwanese technology to power key industries that it is banking on to double its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035.
"Taiwan’s integrated deterrence strategy must keep this stark choice between national objectives for Beijing clear," Jared McKinney, a scholar at Air University, told Al Jazeera. "Either conquer Taiwan or maintain economic prosperity."
"A question delayed is an invasion denied," McKinney said. 
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