Taiwan is seeking to partner with Amazon to develop the company’s new Kuiper Broadband Network satellite constellation, the island’s science and technology minister said on Tuesday, as the island looks to build communications resilience amid heightened aggression from China.
Beijing considers the self-governed island its own territory and has not ruled out possible invasion to take control of it.
this month, China dispatches largest naval fleet into regional waters According to Taiwanese defense officials, for nearly three decades.
Also on AF: US “seeking ban on sales of Chinese TP-Link routers”
Taipei, meanwhile, has been considering plans to preserve communications in the event of a Chinese attack, including using satellites in low- and medium-Earth orbits for internet services, Similar to how Ukraine uses Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite broadband service.
The Taiwan government has previously negotiated with Starlink, but the negotiations Reportedly crashed The island requires local entities to have a majority stake in any potential joint venture.
Taiwan’s Minister of Science and Technology Wu Cheng-wen said in an interview with reporters that the bandwidth of Taiwan’s existing OneWeb satellite service is too small.
Taiwan could also partner with other Western companies, including those in Europe and Canada, he said, without naming them but said Amazon had the most deeply developed products.
“Amazon’s Kuiper is by far the most mature in the development stage, so we are now discussing whether there is a possibility of cooperation,” Wu added, without elaborating.
Amazon plans to build a network of more than 3,000 satellites to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink, but the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Taiwan has also been sending its own satellites into space using rockets launched by foreign companies, including Arianespace, a joint venture between Airbus and Safran.
But the island wants to be able to use its own rockets, and Wu said officials expect to make a decision around late March on the location of the launch pad, possibly along its southeastern coast where the military has missile launch sites.
He added that it would take about five years for the site to be operational.
- Reuters, with additional editing and input by Vishakha Saxena
