Elon Musk came under pressure from China after Starlink Ukraine – FT .
Elon Musk ,
KYIV. UkraineGate , 21 , June , 2022 | Society.
American businessman Elon Musk received a positive assessment in the West for helping Starlink Ukraine after the Russian invasion, but in China it was perceived differently, writes the Financial Times .
Details
A few days after Vladimir Putin ordered the introduction of Russian troops into Ukraine, Elon Musk decided to support Kyiv. In less than 48 hours, the commercial rocket and satellite business Mask SpaceX sent a batch of Starlink satellite kits to protect the country’s Internet from Putin’s forces.
“Musk was praised in the West, but his help was perceived differently in China, which is a critical growth market for his business empire, where Tesla earns a quarter of its revenue,” the paper said.
According to the FT, the richest man on Earth is now “under pressure from Beijing’s National Security Service and the Information Hawks, who are threatening access to the world’s largest consumer market amid growing tensions with the United States and local electric car rivals. approaching Tesla “.
Blain Curcio, founder of the Orbital Gateway space technology research group, said “serious concern in China” was that SpaceX and Starlink were considered critical parts of the “US space military-industrial complex.”
Starlink has more than 2,000 satellites in low Earth orbit, and Musk plans to deploy thousands more. As the group expands and the space race between the United States and China accelerates, experts warn that the billionaire will try his best to balance the competing interests of the superpowers.
Beijing’s military planners fear a scenario in which thousands of Mask satellites will be deployed to monitor China or, more importantly, to support Taiwan, a democratic country claimed by Beijing.
Former Secretary of Defense Drew Thompson said the Starlink donation after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raised “awareness of the usefulness and effectiveness of low-orbit satellites to support communications systems during the war.”
In December, Chinese diplomats complained to the United Nations that SpaceX satellites had forced the Chinese space station to maneuver to avoid dangerous collisions. These allegations caused a wave of resentment against Mask on social media.
Criticism has intensified since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. China Military Online, the official publication of the People’s Liberation Army, last month criticized SpaceX’s deep ties to the U.S. military, including commercial contracts with the military, and criticized Starlink’s ability to “increase the combat capability of the U.S. military.”
Addition
In early March, the first batch of Starlink satellite Internet stations arrived in Ukraine .
On April 20, a decision was made that allows anyone to use Starlink terminals during martial law.
Source: Ukrgate
