China is responding to U.S. official confirmation for the first time that it launched weapons into orbit, urging against using outer space as a battlefield.
Guo Jiakun, spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, called to ask Washington to halt its “excessive development of its military force in space and preparations for ‘space war,’” as he described it. Beijing also condemned the weaponization of space and stated that it might result in an arms race.
A similar response came from Russia. “Moscow desires space to stay free of weapons, stronger efforts are needed to achieve full demilitarisation of outer space,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The United States has “on-orbit space control weapons” to help protect US forces from hostile action, the US Space Force said. Yet, there was no indication from American officials about the number of systems deployed and what they are.
Space-control capabilities can be utilized in offensive or defensive operations, the Space Force said. They include technologies that could disrupt or interfere with enemy satellites, either electromagnetically or cyber-wise, and lasers that could be used to temporarily blind sensors.
Washington claims China and Russia are threats to the US interests in space. The US Space Force (USSF) believes China is building space and counterspace capabilities as part of its military modernisation, and that Russia considers space to be a pivotal future theater of conflict.
In recent years, China’s own space capabilities have grown by leaps and bounds. In earlier reports, Reuters said that Chinese and U.S. forces are working on manoeuvrable satellites and other technologies that might be able, at least in theory, to track, disrupt or jam enemy satellites.
The new U.S. release has thus led to worries that the conflict might now become a more open military battle in space. The announcement largely confirmed capabilities that have long been suspected, but making them public could raise pressure on other major powers to respond, analysts said.
It is unlikely that China would “stand idly by” if Washington took steps toward space weapons, said Song Zhongping, a military commentator in Hong Kong. He said the next moves by Beijing would be greatly dependent on “the next moves” by the U.S.
Existing international law is only partially applicable to the use of weaponry in space. The 1967 “Outer Space Treaty” banned the placement of weapons of mass destruction in orbit, but did not generally ban conventional weapons or many technologies capable of interfering with satellites.
This represents a gap in regulation, and could be more in focus at a UN disarmament meeting later this year, said space law expert Laetitia Cesari.
Space is increasingly important to modern warfare, especially for communications, navigation, surveillance and targeting, as the military increasingly depends on satellites.
Source: AFP via CNA
