Former Army chief Ved Malik calls out security risks of Elon Musk’s Starlink: ‘It doesn’t depend on foreign-owned telecoms’ | Today’s news
Former army chief Ved Malik on Sunday expressed reservations about India’s reliance on telecom systems owned by foreign companies, citing US sanctions imposed during the Kargil war and Washington’s recent trade restrictions.
“Given national security concerns and my experience with defense sanctions imposed by the US during the Kargil War period and tariff and other restrictions imposed by the United States recently, I would not want to rely on any foreign-owned telecommunications system in India,” Malik wrote on X.
Ved Malik recalls the US sanctions during the Kargil War
Malik served as Chief of Army Staff from October 1997 to September 2000 and led the Indian Army during the 1999 Kargil War against Pakistan.
His tenure also coincided with sanctions imposed on India by the administration of then US President Bill Clinton in May 1998 following India’s Pokhran nuclear tests.
The restrictions covered the sale of defense equipment, transfers of military technology, financial aid and the export of sensitive dual-use technology. Some of these curbs remained in place when the Kargil conflict began in May 1999, making it difficult for India to access some foreign defense supplies.
Elon Musk seeks approval for Starlink in India
Malik’s remarks come as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk seeks regulatory approval to operate Starlink’s satellite internet service in India.
Musk criticized the Indian government for the delay in granting permission for the service to enter the country. He also alleged that influential business interests were preventing Starlink from entering the Indian market, which the government denied.
India’s Starlink project
India’s two largest private telecom operators, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. and Bharti Airtel, together have roughly 910 million broadband subscribers, more than 80 percent of the country’s market, according to the latest government data cited by Bloomberg.
Musk’s bid represents a sharp turnaround from last year, when SpaceX signed deals with Bharti Airtel and Jio Platforms Ltd. to Reliance to offer Starlink services in India.
Bharti is one of the largest shareholders in Eutelsat Communications, the operator of the Eutelsat OneWeb satellite network, which is one of Starlink’s biggest low-orbit competitors globally.
Reliance has its own satellite ambitions through Jio Satellite Communications and its joint venture with Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES SA.
Jio, OneWeb and Starlink are among three companies that have received Indian satellite communications licenses, although none have yet fully turned on commercial services, Bloomberg reported.
In June, it was reported that India had effectively frozen final approvals for the commercial launch of Starlink due to security concerns. Security agencies under the country’s home ministry have withheld permission to begin operating a low-Earth orbital service, sources told Bloomberg.
Starlink has secured a satellite communications license in India, but is still awaiting security clearances as well as spectrum before it can be commercially activated.
