Crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. A Stress Test for Taiwan with Global Implications
The large-scale military operation carried out by the United States (US) and Israel against Iran triggered an Iranian retaliation that resulted in the partial destruction of natural gas liquefaction infrastructure and severe disruption of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. The economies of East Asia—South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan in particular—are highly exposed to this crisis due to their reliance on liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports for electricity generation.
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The Middle East hydrocarbons accounted for 16% of Taiwan’s electricity generation in 2025 and more than 80% of the helium required for semiconductor manufacturing is imported from the region.
Supply has been maintained through the redirection of cargoes initially destined for other clients, but at the cost of significant additional expenses borne by public energy companies.
It includes a reduction in dependence on the Middle East in favor of US LNG, a revival of nuclear power, and the temporary use of coal to stabilize prices. Renewable energy sources, for their part, are not currently benefiting from the same momentum.
Greater awareness of this vulnerability is likely to further justify extending the concept of energy security to industrial security in Taiwan.
In Taiwan, an archipelago of 24 million people claimed by China, this crisis is significant for two reasons. First, it comes at a time when Taiwan’s electricity system is undergoing a transformation aimed at simultaneously meeting high electricity demand, greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, and a quest for resilience in the face of hybrid pressures exerted by China. Second, the archipelago is the world leader in so-called “logic” semiconductors, which form the basis of artificial intelligence (AI) applications: any disruption to their production—which is highly intensive in electricity and helium, a byproduct of certain gas fields—is likely to have global repercussions.
In this context, the crisis in the Middle East serves as a real-world test of Taiwan’s industrial and energy resilience.
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Crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. A Stress Test for Taiwan with Global Implications
Adrien Simorre
Associate Research Fellow, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri
Center for Asian Studies
Asia is a nerve center for multiple global economic, political and security challenges. The Center for Asian Studies provides documented expertise and a platform for discussion on Asian issues to accompany decision makers and explain and contextualize developments in the region for the sake of a larger public dialogue.
The Center's research is organized along two major axes: relations between Asia's major powers and the rest of the world; and internal economic and social dynamics of Asian countries. The Center's research focuses primarily on China, Japan, India, Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific, but also covers Southeast Asia, the Korean peninsula and the Pacific Islands.
The Centre for Asian Studies maintains close institutional links with counterpart research institutes in Europe and Asia, and its researchers regularly carry out fieldwork in the region.
The Center organizes closed-door roundtables, expert-level seminars and a number of public events, including an Annual Conference, that welcome experts from Asia, Europe and the United States. The work of Center’s researchers, as well as that of their partners, is regularly published in the Center’s electronic journal Asie.Visions.
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