Taiwan Pursues Internet Satellite Service Ahead of Potential Chinese Invasion (semafor.com) 31
An ongoing internet disruption on one of Taiwan's islands is accelerating the self-governed territory's plans to launch an independent satellite network like SpaceX's Starlink, which would help ensure it remains connected in a potential Chinese invasion. From a report: Taiwan's National Communication Commission blamed Chinese vessels last month for cutting two undersea cables providing high-speed internet to Matsu, a Taiwanese island located only a few nautical miles off the coast of China's Fujian province. The cables have yet to be repaired; Matsu residents are currently relying on a microwave backup system and other fixes, such as using SIM cards from China. [...] Taiwan's Digital Minister Audrey Tang said last week that the territory would prioritize testing its satellite internet capabilities in outlying islands such as Matsu. She first announced in September that Taiwan was aiming to build a satellite system similar to the Starlink network run by Elon Musk's SpaceX, which has become instrumental to Ukraine in its war against Russia.
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Meth is a hell of a drug.
No, not in case of an invasion (Score:4, Informative)
"An ongoing internet disruption on one of Taiwan's islands is accelerating the self-governed territory's plans to launch an independent satellite network like SpaceX's Starlink, which would help ensure it remains connected in a potential Chinese invasion"
In the event of an actual invasion, internet connectivity would not be a key concern. Shooting down missiles and defending against air raids and amphibious landings would be top concerns. Oh, and staying alive.
The alternative internet connectivity addresses the current saber-rattling cutting of undersea cables, which is a potential precursor to an actual invasion. So far, China has only toyed with the propaganda islands near the mainland. The only reason Taiwan tries to defend these worthless and basically indefensible islands is for propaganda and a misguided view of victory ("Hey, we still have our flag planted on these worthless islands!"). And the only reason China hasn't taken over the islands is because they are intrinsically worthless and yet allow safe, saber-rattling like the cutting of the internet cables.
Re:No, not in case of an invasion (Score:5, Insightful)
In the event of an actual invasion, internet connectivity would not be a key concern.
Where did you learn to wage war? The History Channel? World War II documentaries? Internet connectivity is nothing more than something provided by a critical communications utility, and communications literally make and break a war, which very much includes communications to your advanced weaponry.
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In the event of an actual invasion, internet connectivity would not be a key concern.
Where did you learn to wage war? The History Channel? World War II documentaries? Internet connectivity is nothing more than something provided by a critical communications utility, and communications literally make and break a war, which very much includes communications to your advanced weaponry.
Communications is absolutely essential to warfare, but no competent military depends on communications that is so obviously vulnerable. If Taiwan's military response is in the least dependent on preventing the cutting of a few underseas cables, then that is a flawed military strategy. In the event of a military invasion, the first thing China will do is to launch some of the 2000 missiles currently aimed at Taiwan. Does anyone really think that the status of Taiwan's internet connectivity off the island
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Good point, I think we should get DARPA to design a communications system reliable enough to use during a nuclear war.
Short? (Score:4, Interesting)
> In the event of an actual invasion, internet connectivity would not be a key concern.
If the conflict is short, perhaps you are right, but nobody really knows how long it will last. If it lasts a long time, then the economy will need regular work to return to as normal as possible in order to fund weapons and survival.
It would be an ugly war, that's for sure. Both sides are armed to the teeth, and multiple cities will likely be flattened, even if USA doesn't get involved. Since the citizens are on an island, they cannot easily flee to a neighbor, and so young and old will be snipers.
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"An ongoing internet disruption on one of Taiwan's islands is accelerating the self-governed territory's plans to launch an independent satellite network like SpaceX's Starlink, which would help ensure it remains connected in a potential Chinese invasion"
In the event of an actual invasion, internet connectivity would not be a key concern.
You are the one to assume Internet connectivity. Assume incorrectly I might add.
That you believe data to the wider Internet is the one and only thing that travels over those cables and satellites is cute at best.
Government voice and data, military voice and data, all sorts of sensors for advanced warning systems...
Why do you think none of these things are a concern in an invasion?
The days of smoke signals and red sunrises to detect a marching army are so long gone it's amazing you'd even think that is the
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In the event of an actual invasion, internet connectivity would not be a key concern. Shooting down missiles and defending against air raids and amphibious landings would be top concerns. Oh, and staying alive.
People use information from the internet to help them stay alive, like coordinating community response (i.e. which direction to run) so what you just said is that information people could use to stay alive isn't material to people trying to stay alive. Congratulations on inherent self-contradiction, it is the normal state of the modern human.
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Okay, I'll bite. When in history did everyone involved behave sensibly from start to end? Certainly not WW1 or WW2....
Re:No, not in case of an invasion (Score:4, Informative)
In the event of an actual invasion, internet connectivity would not be a key concern.
You might wanna talk to the Ukrainians about that. They have said that StarLink is a godsend. They use it for controlling drones, directing artillery, reconnaissance patrols, logistics, etc.
wut? (Score:2)
"...help ensure it remains connected in a potential Chinese invasion..."
I'm pretty certain that if China was serious enough to invade, I think they'd be serious enough to turn on their jamming.
Re:wut? (Score:5, Insightful)
One of the great things about jamming devices is they very loudly shout "HERE I AM" across the spectrum to any potential person looking for a military asset to destroy. It was one of the very early victories in the Ukrainian war where Russian assets were trivially identified and rapidly destroyed.
One of the less great things about jamming devices is that EM waves don't care whose flag is painted on the side of the equipment.
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China is hoping that Taiwan fires first, by accident or deliberately. Taiwan is trespassed on by 10-20 Chinese military war items on a daily basis, and China is just hoping that one of them gets shot at, as an excuse to invade.
You also have to remember, it isn't just China. Russia is pursuing a push westward to expand the Iron Curtain to the Atlantic. China wants to get revenge for Japan and continue the blood feud that the Han race reigns supreme. Iran is well, Iran and just wants some good ol' jihads
Re: wut? (Score:1)
China is hoping that Taiwan fires first, by accident or deliberately.
That's stupid and I can see why you'd post that anonymously:
China isn't waiting for Taiwan to make the first move - they're waiting to get ready to make the first move.
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Your experience may vary. (Score:1)
Some folks in the military industrial complex are having positively orgasmic feelings about the world stage right now. More nukes! More guns! More of everything, and damn the expense! Launch enough communications satellites to backfill for severed lines! The percent of GDP targets will have to rise to keep pace.
Re:Your experience may vary. (Score:5, Insightful)
It isn't the MIC that rolled tanks into the Ukraine and massacred civilians.
It isn't the MIC that keeps threatening Taiwan's airspace.
It isn't the MIC that sends suicide bombers into malls to blow up innocents.
People say the US is the worst thing that happened to the world, usually people on the Russian or Chinese dime, but in reality, look who is invading whom... and kindly put a sock in it. The parent poster sounds like someone who would be defending the Wehrmacht as they rolled into France saying it was French and European aggression that made them do that. Similar to how some lunatic jams a gun on a hostage's head and yells, "You are controlling the trigger here!"
Take your propaganda and go elsewhere. There are a ton of Gen Z who gobble down propaganda fed to them on Tik Tok daily, so might as well find a simple audience who will believe you when you say that the NATO is at fault for the Ukraine invasion.
As for the MIC, it isn't the source of evil in the world. In fact, if you look at the past, it was easily defeated by PR. Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, pretty much a press-pass would outdo any number of MOABs lobbed at the enemy.
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I didn't ascribe to the MIC any causal action. At all. The fact that it's happening leaves them giddy. Why do you assume I mean anything further? The current state of the world is hugely beneficial to them.
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Be an undertaker. No matter how bad things get, you'll always have business.
China (Score:1)
Can't we all just get along? (Score:3)
* Gather 1 ton of ball bearings.
* Put it on top of a rocket.
* Launch it in the same orbital plane as the satellites but going OPPOSITE the earth's spin.
Re:Can't we all just get along? (Score:5, Informative)
* Launch it in the same orbital plane as the satellites but going OPPOSITE the earth's spin.
easily
In the mismatch between these two statements is the flaw in your plan.
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Going opposite the Earth's spin reduces your payload by about 25%. China has rockets large enough that they could get a useful payload into a retrograde orbit.
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It doesn't need to be going in the opposite direction though, just with sufficiently different velocity to the satellites. That isn't too hard, not for China with the rockets they have.
More likely though they would use ground to space missiles to take out satellites, or possibly lasers. They have had success blinding spy satellites with lasers, and with enough power they could damage communication satellites. Another option is jamming, perhaps using cheap but apparently hard to track and shoot down balloons
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