If China takes TSMC, then make no mistake; the United States will carpet bomb every facility and ASML's policy towards China will not budge. There are no contingency situations in which China steals TSMC's tech; it's something that Taiwan and the United States simply refuse to let happen. The running "joke" in the industry is that TSMC's foundries are rigged with explosives wired to a red button on the US president's desk. The real-world situation isn't that far off.
America would fall behind in this scenario, but ASML will still exist and advanced lithography can continue independent of Taiwan. TSMC is a big part of the puzzle, but the importance of the first island chain is 10x more important than anything TSMC owns.
America would fall behind in this scenario, but ASML will still exist and advanced lithography can continue independent of Taiwan. TSMC is a big part of the puzzle, but the importance of the first island chain is 10x more important than anything TSMC owns.