New Delhi, June 28 -- protect the company's ability to buy memory chips from a Chinese semiconductor maker the Pentagon has listed as a firm with ties to the People's Liberation Army.

Apple wants a forward-looking guarantee that CXMT will not be added to Commerce's Entity List, the blacklist that makes sourcing from a designated firm illegal without a government license.

The distinction between where CXMT sits now and where Apple fears it might land is the entire weight of the story. CXMT appears on the Pentagon's 1260H list, a statutory designation for Chinese companies alleged to support or supply the People's Liberation Army. A 1260H listing is a signal, a reputational and political marker that has traditionally preceded tougher cons...