TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's ambitious artificial intelligence expansion faces mounting energy security concerns as President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) announced Tuesday (Sept. 9) over NT$100 billion (around US$3.3 billion) in AI infrastructure investments. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies simultaneously warned about vulnerabilities in Taiwan's energy supply chain, revealing that 30% of the island's liquefied natural gas imports originate from Qatar. These dual developments underscore growing tensions between Taiwan's technological ambitions and strategic energy dependencies.
Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨), Taiwan's main opposition party, legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝衣鳳) warned that Taiwan's heavy dependence on imported natural gas creates significant power shortage risks. Assistant Professor Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑) at Tamkang University (淡江大學) expressed concerns that China, the People's Republic of China, might deploy naval vessels to disrupt Taiwan's energy supply.
Taiwan's rapid artificial intelligence development has transformed power and energy into increasingly sensitive political and strategic topics across the island. The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA, 經濟部) Energy Administration (能源署) projects that gas-fired power generation will constitute 42.4% of Taiwan's electricity supply by 2024. This dependency makes natural gas Taiwan's dominant power source, amplifying concerns about supply chain vulnerabilities and geopolitical risks.
Deputy Director General Wu Chih-wei (吳志偉) of the Energy Administration reported that Taiwan has reduced its Qatar dependency to approximately 25%, while Australia and the United States now provide nearly 50% of liquefied natural gas imports. Taiwan nonetheless maintains a 27-year gas supply contract with Qatar, raising strategic concerns. Experts worry that China, the People's Republic of China, could potentially influence Qatar to leverage this energy dependency against Taiwan.