American elected officials declare that Elon Musk’s company blocked satellite connections of the American army on the island of Taiwan.
SpaceX, the American space group founded by Elon Musk, has allegedly failed to respect a contract signed with the American army. The American media Forbes reported on February 24 that Space United States House of Representatives.
In September 2023, the US Department of Defense awarded SpaceX a one-year contract for access to Starshield, worth approximately $100 million. A few months earlier, the Pentagon had also ordered SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network for Ukrainian forces in the midst of a Russian invasion.
After a visit by American MP Mike Gallagher to Taiwan, the latter wrote a letter to Elon Musk: “ Multiple sources revealed to the commission that Starshield is inactive in and around Taiwan “, according to CNBC, which quotes the letter, adding that it asks the sulphurous billionaire to provide the commission with a report on the issue before this Friday.
“ In the event of CCP (Chinese Communist Party) military aggression against Taiwan, the US military in the Western Pacific would be seriously threatened […] Ensuring robust communications networks for U.S. military personnel in and around Taiwan is critical to safeguarding U.S. interests in the Indo-Pacific region. » we can read.
Economic interests with China
48 hours after the letter was published, Space X responded on X (ex-twitter):
“ SpaceX is in full compliance with all of its contracts with the U.S. government. SpaceX informed the special commission last week that it was misinformed, but the commission chose to contact the media before requesting additional information “.
Elon Musk is suspected of having prevented connections to Taiwan to satisfy the interests of his sensitive neighbor. In 2022, he said in an interview with the Financial Times that Taiwan’s future could be resolved by Beijing by ” establishing Taiwan as a special administrative region “.
According to CNBC, the big boss’s position on Taiwan has allowed the car manufacturer Tesla – of which Elon Musk is CEO – to prosper in a context of tense Sino-American relations. Beijing allowed Musk to open a factory in Shanghai, while other foreign automakers in China are required to sign joint ventures with Chinese companies.
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