Commentary Countries go to war for many reasons—but to grab semiconductor plants would be a first. Taiwan is a global hub of semiconductor manufacturing. Some analysts argue a principal reason that China would invade Taiwan would be to seize the island nation’s semiconductor industry. A couple of academics even argue that Taiwan can forestall a Chinese attack by threatening to destroy its semiconductor factories at the first sign of an attack by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). However, China would be no less keen to seize Taiwan if the island didn’t have a single semiconductor factory. From Beijing’s perspective there’s plenty of “up-side” to taking Taiwan by force or by throttling it and bringing it under mainland control. Let’s think it through. Strategic Terrain: Breaking the First Island Chain Taiwan has what real estate agents say matters most: location, location, location. Geography matters. Taiwan sits in the middle of the …