Taiwan should not rely on a single foreign satellite provider for critical wartime communications, analysts have warned, after sudden restrictions on the use of Elon Musk’s Starlink disrupted Ukrainian drone operations.
The episode has renewed debate in Taiwan over the risks of entrusting essential communications to foreign commercial operators whose services could be restricted for political, military or business reasons.
Analysts said this was particularly relevant as Taipei was trying to strengthen the resilience of its communication networks against potential mainland Chinese attacks while simultaneously expanding its use of drones and other unmanned systems.
“The lesson from this incident is that we cannot become overly dependent on satellite navigation services provided by a single company,” said Shu Hsiao-huang, a senior analyst at Taiwan’s government-funded Institute for National Defence and Security Research.