TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A U.S. House committee has sent a letter to Elon Musk demanding he open access to the military version of his Space X Starlink internet service to U.S. troops in Taiwan.

The U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sent a letter to Musk on Feb. 24 signed by committee chair Mike Gallagher demanding SpaceX provide its Starshield internet service to U.S. troops in Taiwan, reported Forbes. The letter was penned on the final day of Gallagher's three-day trip to Taiwan with a delegation that included four other representatives.

Gallagher reminded Musk that SpaceX is contractually obligated to provide the Pentagon “global access” to Starshield technology. “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,” wrote Gallagher.

He emphasized that building a "robust communication network for U.S. military personnel on and around Taiwan is paramount for safeguarding U.S. interests in the Indo-Pacific region." He warned that if China were to launch military action against Taiwan, "American service members in the Western Pacific would be put at severe risk.”

Gallagher gave Musk a March 8 deadline to present the committee with a briefing about the accessibility of Starshield in and around Taiwan.

There are concerns about the reliability of the Starlink system in Taiwan in a time of crisis given Musk's Tesla business in China. In an Oct. 7, 2022 interview with the Financial Times, Musk gave his opinion on resolving tensions between China and Taiwan: “My recommendation … would be to figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan that is reasonably palatable,” drawing criticism by Taiwanese netizens.

In July 2023, Musk was reportedly stymying efforts by Taiwan to build a backup internet system by demanding Taipei change its laws to allow SpaceX to have 100% ownership of the Starlink operations in the country. Taiwan's regulations require telecommunications joint ventures with foreign companies to provide local firms with a 51% majority ownership of the venture.

Jason Hsu, a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, and Richard Y.K. Chen, former vice minister for policy at the Ministry of National Defense, published an article on Sept. 13, 2023, in the journal Project Syndicate to warn that Musk's pro-China stance and extensive business interests in China could potentially lead to him complying to Chinese demands to shutter Starlink in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait. They warned that If Taiwan is cut off from the internet, it may have dire consequences for the world economy and financial markets.

Taiwan has since 2022 been working on an alternative backup satellite network in the event of a Chinese attack. Taiwan has signed a contract with U.K. satellite network provider One Web to build a network of 700 satellite transmission sites across the country as well as overseas.