Taiwan is pushing back on regional voices that downplay the threat to the Taiwan Strait, arguing that a conflict there would hit Singapore and Southeast Asia's economies directly.

• Taiwan's representative in Singapore, Tung Chen-yuan, said Taiwan's diplomacy, defense buildup, and social resilience are all aimed at keeping the current peace.
• The pushback follows Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's remarks that appeared to justify a Chinese takeover by force, and a former Singaporean official calling Taiwan the source of Asia's crisis.
• Taiwan's argument: attention belongs on the side steadily increasing military pressure, not on framing that makes force look reasonable.
• Taiwan's chip industry is the hook — Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC holds a 2% stake in TSMC, and a disruption to that supply chain would spill far beyond Taiwan.
• Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said instability in the strait would hit the whole region and the world, and that Singapore opposes any one-sided change to the status quo.

Outlook: Expect Taiwan to keep making the economic case to Southeast Asian governments and businesses as debate over the strait sharpens in the region.