Putin 'asked Elon Musk to switch off internet over Taiwan as a favour to China'
- by Daily Mail
- Oct 25, 2024
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The system has been vital to Ukrainian forces over the two-year conflict.
But Russian agents are reportedly now using 'intermediaries' in Dubai in order to get their hands on the terminals, circumventing western sanctions imposed on Russia.
House Democrats warned that Russia's use of the system in Ukraine could raise national security concerns in March.
In a letter to SpaceX, two Democrats on the House Oversight Committee demanded information about Russia's potential illegal acquisition of the satellite-enabled terminals, according to the Washington Post.
The letter cited recent allegations from Ukrainian intelligence officials, who say that Russian troops are using Starlink terminals to coordinate war efforts in eastern Ukraine, in potential violation of US sanctions.
As founder of SpaceX, Musk has cultivated close ties with US military and intelligence, with access to sensitive information.
The company is the primary rocket launcher for both NASA and the Pentagon.
Starlink has said it does not do any business in or with Russia, and Musk has branded claims of association with Putin 'absurd'.
Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin, insisted neither Putin nor the Kremlin were in regular contact with Musk.
Musk has not yet commented on the claims published in the WSJ.
The Kremlin today slammed the claims in the WSJ report as 'not true' and 'absolutely false'.
While Beijing remains officially neutral on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it has supported Putin's claims that the war was provoked by western aggression.
The US this month imposed its first sanctions on Chinese firms for making weapons for Russia, accusing them of collaborating with Russian defence firms to produce drones vital to the war effort.
Taiwan is a sensitive subject, with the current administration formed from the nationalist Chinese KMT party after being forced out by the CCP in 1949.
China still lays claim to the island, and maintains that the island has always belonged to China in its insistence that 'reunification' is inevitable.
US President Joe Biden has vowed that US forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.
Still, the Taiwanese government is steadfast that it will not cede an inch of territory.
'(We) will not yield an inch of ground in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu to firmly defend our homeland,' President Lai Ching-te said in a speech today, referring to the islands controlled by Taipei.
'The Battle of Guningtou lets us understand that democracy and freedom should not be taken for granted, but require the joint efforts of generations to defend them,' Lai said.
Without naming China, Lai insisted that 'any external forces' would not be allowed to change the future of the islands.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold glasses during a festive reception of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024
Taiwan is only 81 miles off the coast of China at the narrowest point of the Taiwan Strait
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian brushed aside Lai's comments, insisting that China and Taiwan 'will and must be unified in the end'.
The dispute between Beijing and Taipei dates back to a civil war between Mao Zedong's communist fighters and Chiang Kai-shek's nationalist forces, which fled to Taiwan in 1949 following their defeat.
The nationalists scored a key victory over the communists in the Battle of Guningtou on the Kinmen islands.
Lai, who took power in May and has been more outspoken than his predecessor in defending Taiwan's sovereignty, earlier attended a sombre ceremony for the battle and shook hands with veterans.
In his speech, Lai said Taiwan's 'determination to defend our national sovereignty' and efforts 'to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait' were unchanged.
He repeated his hope that China and Taiwan will 'conduct dialogue and exchanges with parity, dignity and in a healthy and orderly manner'.
Beijing severed high-level communications with Taipei in 2016 and has since ramped up military and political pressure on the self-ruled island.
China's large-scale war games around Taiwan on October 14 were followed by live-fire drills near the island on Tuesday, and the transiting of a Chinese aircraft carrier group through the Taiwan Strait a day later.
Taiwanese troops conducted live-fire drills on Penghu island in the waterway on Thursday, days after a US and a Canadian warship sailed through the narrow passage.
Why does China claim Taiwan?
The island's history as "Taiwan" is relatively new.
The island has been populated by Malayo-Polynesian peoples for centuries.
Europeans built bases on the islands until Chinese Ming loyalists drove out the Dutch in 1662.
By 1885 the island had become a province of the Qing Empire.
China descended into civil war, 1927 and 1949, between the nationalist KMT party and the CCP in power today.
The civil war was caused by a number of factors, fomented by widespread poverty and slow economic development.
Through WWII, Britain and the US offered much support to the KMT to fight Japan and restore stability.
Russia allied more closely with the CCP, which hoped to solve China's problems through socialism.
Ultimately, the nationalist government was forced out and relocated to Taiwan along with 1.2mn people from China.
China still lays claim to the island and waters around it through its "One China" policy.
The Republic of China government in Taiwan maintains that it is sovereign.
The ROC officially also seeks peaceful 'reunification' with mainland China, on condition its freedoms and democracy are preserved.
Most Taiwanese people oppose joining China in fear of losing these freedoms.
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