At the Space Symposium, during a panel discussion on international partnership, the Director General of the Taiwan Space Agency (BOWL) Jong-Shinn Woo called on other countries to join together to create a common satellite communications system, to match the scale and growing strategic importance of networks like America's Starlink. He proposed to unite from four or more countries, which could share costs, and also contribute in the form of local technological expertise.
The TASA chief's proposal is reminiscent of Europe's planned sovereign broadband group IRIS², although he presented his concept as a more multinational approach.
For reference: IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) is a large-scale EU project to create its own sovereign low-orbit satellite communication system. An analogue of the American Starlink type system (SpaceX) or Kuiper (Amazon), which should guarantee the independence of the EU in the field of space communications.
Recently, Taiwan has been looking to capitalize on its dominance in semiconductor manufacturing, while responding to growing geopolitical pressure from China, which, according to Wu, changes the country's approach to space. Among the priorities, that underlie this strategy, he singled out the connection, intelligence and independent access to launches to enhance government operations and situational awareness. The Director General of TASA also emphasized that, that Taiwan's security has wider global implications, citing the country's role in international semiconductor supply and strategic location in the Indo-Pacific region.
Although after Wu's speech, other space agencies did not directly comment on the joint grouping proposal, each emphasized the growing importance of international cooperation through their own national strategies.
Source: https://spacenews.com