Thinking About China
Opinion

Beijing’s Panic Over Starlink: 2 Major Fears and 3 Desperate Countermeasures

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Beijing’s Panic Over Starlink: 2 Major Fears and 3 Desperate Countermeasures
The Starlink logo on a smartphone in front of a displayed Ukrainian flag, in this illustration taken on Feb. 27, 2022. Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters
Wang He
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Commentary
Although Starlink is a commercial venture, its influence goes well beyond commerce, causing significant concern for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP is particularly alarmed by two specific applications of Starlink.

Starlink’s Military Applications

The Russia–Ukraine war is the clearest example of Starlink’s military impact. Ukraine has relied heavily on Starlink to gain battlefield advantages over Russia. Some observers regard the war as the first commercial space war.
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Wang He
Wang He
Author
Wang He has master’s degrees in law and history, and has studied the international communist movement. He was a university lecturer and an executive of a large private firm in China. Wang now lives in North America and has published commentaries on China’s current affairs and politics since 2017.