00:00 Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Wednesday, February 28.
00:05 Today on Forbes, lawmakers demand Elon Musk provide SpaceX Internet to U.S. military in
00:12 Taiwan.
00:13 A group of U.S. lawmakers are calling on Elon Musk to make SpaceX's Starshield military-specific
00:21 satellite communications network available to American defense forces in Taiwan after
00:26 years of refusing to do business in the country.
00:29 In a letter to Musk obtained by Forbes, Representative Mike Gallagher, Republican of Wisconsin, reminded
00:36 the billionaire of SpaceX's contractual obligation to provide the U.S. Department of Defense
00:41 with "global access" to its satellite Internet services.
00:46 He noted that the Pentagon is committing "tens of millions of dollars" over the next year
00:50 to Starshield, which uses low-Earth orbit satellites to provide communications and observational
00:56 imagery to the military.
00:59 In the letter, dated February 24, Gallagher, who is chair of the Select Committee on the
01:04 Chinese Communist Party, wrote, "I understand that SpaceX is possibly withholding broadband
01:10 Internet services in and around Taiwan, possibly in breach of SpaceX's contractual obligations
01:16 with the U.S. government.
01:18 A robust communication network for U.S. military personnel on and around Taiwan is paramount
01:23 for safeguarding U.S. interests in the Indo-Pacific region."
01:28 Gallagher added that, in the event of Chinese aggression against Taiwan, "American service
01:33 members in the Western Pacific would be put at severe risk."
01:38 The letter asks that Musk provide the Select Committee with a briefing about Starshield
01:41 availability in and around Taiwan by March 8, which is at the end of next week.
01:47 For Musk, the request is certain to discomfort.
01:51 He has close ties with China, where Tesla has a major manufacturing plant, and has very
01:56 publicly waded into the tensions the country has with self-governed Taiwan, which it views
02:01 as part of its territory.
02:03 In 2022, Musk suggested the tensions between Taipei and Beijing could be resolved if some
02:09 control of Taiwan was handed over to China.
02:13 The letter also highlights the uncomfortable reliance the U.S. government and military
02:17 have developed on SpaceX's satellites.
02:20 The Texas-based company has launched more than 5,000 satellites since 2019 and is the
02:25 top vendor of satellite communications in the world.
02:27 It is often the only way to get Internet access in remote areas, places destroyed by natural
02:33 disasters, and war zones.
02:36 The service has been crucial to Ukrainian forces battling a Russian invasion now in
02:41 its third year.
02:42 But here, too, things are fraught.
02:45 Ukraine military intelligence officials recently claimed Russian forces in the country are
02:49 also using Starlink satellite Internet terminals, undercutting a major battlefield advantage.
02:55 Musk has denied selling Starlink service to Russia.
03:00 Representative Gallagher was in Taiwan this past week with a delegation of Congress members
03:04 meeting with officials, including President Tsai Ing-wen, and has discussed the country's
03:08 need for a system like Starshield, which could back up its communications were China to cut
03:13 the undersea cables that connect it to the rest of the world.
03:17 Gallagher wrote in the letter that "multiple sources" had disclosed to his committee that
03:22 Starshield is currently inactive in and around Taiwan.
03:26 After Forbes published an exclusive about Gallagher's letter on Saturday, SpaceX said
03:31 in a statement that it is in full compliance with all of its U.S. government contracts.
03:36 In addition, the company said it had notified the select committee last week that it is
03:40 misinformed, "but the committee chose to contact media before seeking additional information."
03:45 When Taiwan first started discussions with SpaceX about Starlink in 2019, officials had
03:52 hoped to secure communications that weren't reliant on its undersea cables.
03:57 But talks quickly fell apart over a requirement that the government own a majority share of
04:01 any telecommunications companies doing business in the country.
04:05 Musk was adamant that he retain full ownership of Starlink operations in Taiwan and demanded
04:10 the requirement be waived or changed.
04:13 Talks have remained stalled ever since and Taiwan has begun developing a satellite system
04:18 of its own.
04:19 The issue took on a new urgency last February when Taiwan's National Communications Commission
04:24 blamed Chinese ships for cutting two undersea internet cables.
04:30 For full coverage, check out David Jean's piece on Forbes.com.
04:35 This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.
04:37 Thanks for tuning in.
04:38 [MUSIC PLAYING]
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