This undated handout photograph released on May 24, 2024 by the Eastern Theater Command of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) shows a naval vessel sailing at sea during the "Joint Sword-2024A" military drill at an unknown location. AFP PHOTO /EASTERN THEATER COMMAND OF THE PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY 

TOKYO — China has analyzed how the Starlink satellite internet service run by Elon Musk's SpaceX works in Taiwan and surrounding areas and is concerned about its intelligence-gathering and reconnaissance capabilities, according to a report by Chinese military researchers.

The analysis of the Starlink service was made as Beijing is preparing for a Taiwan contingency. The system, which links low-orbit satellites with portable user terminals, offers higher-speed internet access than other satellite services and has been used by Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion.

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The report published last year in a Chinese journal for spacecraft engineering experts noted China will "face severe tests" in responding to the Starlink service, which can be used to aid U.S. military operations. The system's operational capabilities have been "fully demonstrated" on the Ukrainian battlefield, it said.

Those who conduct regional operations targeting hotspot areas "must pay attention" to the Starlink service's "spatial domain impact," according to the report titled "Analysis of influence of Starlink constellation on China's territory and its surrounding space domain."

The researchers were apparently referring to the Taiwan Strait, where tensions have been rising. China views Taiwan as part of its territory and aims to bring the self-ruled democratic island into its fold, by force if necessary.

The report found that more than 90 percent of mainland China, Taiwan and surrounding waters were covered by the Starlink service and that the maximum noncoverage time period without any satellite communications had been shortened to 40 seconds in those areas.

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However, a relatively low number of satellites were available over the major Taiwan cities of Taipei and Tainan, and it was not difficult to implement measures against the capabilities of the Starlink service there, the report said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has instructed the country's military to promote the building of outer space systems and enhance cyber defense. Beijing is also eyeing the establishment of its own version of the Starlink service, observers said.

In April, a new unit called the Information Support Force was created within the military for "coordinated development and application of the network information system." The Chinese Defense Ministry said the unit will play a key role in fighting modern wars.

A different team of researchers in the Chinese military has simulated operations to jam Starlink satellite communications.

Takahiro Tsuchiya, an associate professor at Kyoto University of Advanced Science who is well-versed in Chinese military affairs, said Beijing fears that Starlink would detect the movements of front-line troops and make them public in the event of an invasion of Taiwan.

China, which is lagging behind in the development of satellite communications, must have been exploring the possibility of utilizing such technology for cognitive warfare against Taiwan, Tsuchiya said.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukrainian troops have used the Starlink service for battlefield communications. Russia has also used the service by obtaining Starlink terminals unofficially for communication in areas that Moscow controls in Ukraine, according to media reports.

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