SpaceX's Starship flight test in Texas, US, 2024. (Reuters, Kaylee Greenlee Beal photo) 1124 TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US company SpaceX has asked Taiwanese suppliers to move manufacturing abroad due to geopolitical risks, reports said on Tuesday (Nov. 5). A subcontractor that provides components for SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet said the company requested their manufacturers to move production away from Taiwan because of geopolitical risks, Reuters reported. A second source that works with Taiwan’s satellite component makers said SpaceX directly asked suppliers to transfer manufacturing abroad. SpaceX has about a dozen direct suppliers from Taiwan, many of which rely on domestic vendors, reports said. Due to orders from SpaceX, Taiwanese suppliers have started relocating portions of their supply chain to Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and Thailand. Chin-Poon Industrial, a Taiwanese satellite component maker and SpaceX supplier, told Reuters that SpaceX requested the company transfer manufacturing to Thailand for new orders "mostly due to geopolitical considerations.” This year, another Taiwanese SpaceX supplier, Wistron NeWeb Corporation, started producing routers and network gear for Starlink in north Vietnam. The company’s expansion to Vietnam is largely due to orders from SpaceX, one of its workers said. In addition, Universal Microwave Technology, another Taiwanese satellite component maker and SpaceX supplier, invested in a factory in Vietnam this year. The company would not comment on individual customers due to confidentiality but said, “The planning of overseas production capacity will help customers reduce their doubts about geographical risks, gain customer recognition, and increase the breadth of cooperation with customers.” Shenmao Technology, a Taiwanese supplier of soldering materials for printed circuit boards, which also provides components to SpaceX, said in April it would spend US$5 million (NT$159.7 million) to set up a unit in Vietnam. Taiwan has a multi-billion-dollar satellite component industry, with around 50 manufacturing companies. Reuters contacted Taiwan's economics ministry about SpaceX’s demands, which responded, "Short-term political factors should not affect the supply chain relationship between international satellite companies and Taiwan manufacturers." The Reuters report noted SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s contentious relationship with Taiwan. Musk claimed last year that Taiwan is an "integral part" of China.