Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said it recently worked with the United States to solve a high-end chip smuggling case, publicly disclosing American assistance in an investigation that has reached employees and executives of companies connected to the advanced AI-server supply chain.
The agency said the operation was intended to prevent advanced chips from becoming “tools for authoritarian military expansion,” according to a July 28 statement.
The statement did not identify the U.S. agency involved or say whether the assistance consisted of intelligence, documents, an investigative referral, or other support.
The disclosure followed a July 28 Facebook post from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the informal mission of the United States in Taiwan, saying the U.S. Coast Guard and Taiwan Coast Guard are coordinating on search and rescue, tropical storm preparation, disaster relief, marine resource protection, illegal fishing enforcement, drug interdiction, and other shared maritime objectives.
AIT did not mention the chip case in its post.
AIT accompanied the statement with an undated image showing the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Midgett sailing alongside the Taiwan Coast Guard patrol vessel Taipei. It did not say when or where the image was taken or identify an exercise or operation connected to it.
The Taiwanese Coast Guard said it works with the U.S. Coast Guard under a bilateral framework established in 2021 that includes search and rescue, enforcement against smuggling and illegal fishing, marine environmental protection, and professional training.
Taiwanese Coast Guard patrol vessel Taipei sails in formation with the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Midgett in an undated photo released by Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration on July 28, 2026. Courtesy of Taiwan Coast Guard Administration
Probe Reaches Nvidia Manager
The Coast Guard disclosure came as Taiwan prosecutors announced a third round of searches in an investigation into the alleged illegal export of high-end Supermicro AI servers containing Nvidia chips.
The Keelung District Prosecutors Office said investigators searched the home and company of a suspect surnamed Chang on July 24.
Prosecutors alleged that Chang entered false information into business records. A Taiwan court subsequently granted their request to detain him and bar outside contact, citing risks that he could flee, destroy evidence, or coordinate with alleged accomplices or witnesses.
Taiwan’s Central News Agency identified Chang as an Nvidia manager and reported that seven suspects had been detained across three rounds of enforcement action.
Taiwan authorities previously seized approximately 50 Supermicro servers in May after prosecutors alleged that three suspects used false export documents in an effort to send the equipment to mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.
Investigators later searched Supermicro’s Taiwan office, Albatron Technology, and Chief Telecom. A Taiwan court subsequently detained two Supermicro employees and an Albatron executive as prosecutors dug further into the companies and personnel involved in the supply chain.
Taiwan prosecutors have described their investigation as independent of a larger U.S. prosecution while saying possible links would be examined.
In that separate case, U.S. prosecutors charged Supermicro cofounder Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw and two others in March with conspiring to divert about $2.5 billion in servers containing controlled graphics processors to China.
The U.S. Justice Department alleged that the scheme used Supermicro’s Taiwan operations, Southeast Asian intermediaries, false documents, and repackaging to conceal the equipment’s ultimate destination. Supermicro itself has not been charged in either case.
Coast Guard Cooperation Expands
AIT and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office established a Coast Guard Working Group in March 2021 to formalize cooperation in maritime law enforcement, disaster response, information sharing, search and rescue, and marine environmental protection.
A team from U.S. Coast Guard Activities Far East and a Coast Guard District 14 cybersecurity specialist visited Taipei and Taichung in October 2023. The team held maritime-cybersecurity discussions, met port-security personnel, and participated in a workshop with Taiwan institutions.
The fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act directs the U.S. Coast Guard to prepare a plan for mobile training teams and expanded training for Taiwan personnel in maritime security, law enforcement, counter-drug operations, and illegal fishing enforcement.
