House CCP Letter To Elon Musk On Starshield

Mr.
Elon Musk
February 26, 2024
Page 1 of 3
February 24, 2024
Elon Musk
Chief Executive Officer
SpaceX
1 Rocket Rd.
Hawthorne, California
Dear Mr. Musk,
I write today regarding highly concerning information about SpaceX’s refusal to provide
the United States Department of Defense (Department) and other government agencies with
contractually obligated global access to SpaceX broadband internet services. Starshield—which
currently operates on commercial Starlink infrastructure—offers the U.S. government enhanced
prioritization and global access to SpaceX’s installation of satellites. Indeed, the United States
government has committed over $100 million of American taxpayer dollars to Starshield. I
understand, however, that SpaceX is possibly withholding broadband internet services in and
around Taiwan—possibly in breach of SpaceX’s contractual obligations with the U.S.
government.
In December 2022, SpaceX launched Starshield, a system that will “leverage SpaceX’s
Starlink technology and launch capability to support national security efforts.”1 Starshield
provides the U.S. government with a secure satellite network to support reliable imagery,
sensing, and communications in space.2 The promises of Starshield offer the U.S. military a
strategic advantage in space and, indeed, the Pentagon is committing tens of millions of dollars
over the next year for the program.3
1
Starshield, SPACEX (2023) available at www.spacex.com/starshield/.
2
Id.
3
Anthony Capaccio, Elon Musk Wins US Space Force Contract for Starshield, BLOOMBERG (Sep. 27, 2023)
available at www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-27/elon-musk-wins-us-space-force-contract-for-starshield-
deepening-pentagon-ties#xj4y7vzkg.
Mr. Elon Musk
February 26, 2024
Page 2 of 3
Multiple sources have disclosed to the Committee that Starshield is inactive in and
around Taiwan.
A thriving island democracy roughly 100 miles off the coast of the People’s Republic of
China (PRC), Taiwan is a cornerstone of the global economy and a vital partner of the United
States. Taiwan—the centerpiece of the first island chain, which represents an essential line of
defense against the CCP’s increasingly aggressive use of its military forces—lives under constant
CCP threat of military aggression. Despite never having exercised control over Taiwan, the CCP
has maintained a historical claim to sovereignty over Taiwan and continually threatens to
“reunify” it with the PRC, by force if necessary. Recently, Taiwan has faced persistent military
pressure from Beijing. Beginning in 2021, the number of Chinese People’s Liberation Army
(PLA) aircraft violating Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) has spiked.4
In the event of CCP military aggression against Taiwan, American servicemembers in the
Western Pacific would be put at severe risk. Taiwan is a lynchpin of America’s ability to defend
its allies, particularly Japan and the Philippines. Should Taiwan fall under the PRC’s control, it
could cause allies to doubt America’s security commitments, a core objective of the CCP. As a
CCP handbook for mid-career PLA officers put it, “As soon as Taiwan is reunified with mainland
China, Japan’s maritime lines of communication will fall completely within the striking ranges of
China’s fighters and bombers.”5
Ensuring robust communication networks for U.S. military personnel on and around
Taiwan is paramount for safeguarding U.S. interests in the Indo-Pacific region. Therefore, I
respectfully request that you provide the Select Committee with a briefing regarding Starshield
availability in and around Taiwan as soon as possible but no later than March 8, 2024.
The House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States
and the Chinese Communist Party has broad authority to “investigate and submit policy
recommendations on the status of the Chinese Communist Party’s economic, technological, and
security progress and its competition with the United States” under H. Res. 11.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter and your prompt reply. To schedule
the briefing or ask any follow-up related question, please contact Select Committee staff at (202)
226-9678.
4
For more information, see Ten For Taiwan: Policy Recommendations to Preserve Peace and Stability in the Taiwan
Strait, THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY (May 24, 2023) available at
www.selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/files/evo-media-
document/ten-for-taiwan-final-with-cover-page-2.pdf.
5
Id & Tanner Greer, Losing Taiwan Means Losing Japan, THE SCHOLAR’S STAGE (Feb. 26, 2020) available at
https://scholars-stage.org/losing-taiwan-means-losing-japan.
Mr. Elon Musk
February 26, 2024
Page 3 of 3
Sincerely,
Mike Gallagher
Chairman

House CCP Letter To Elon Musk On Starshield

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February 24, 2024

Dear Mr. Musk,

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