China urges US to halt military buildup in outer space
BEIJING — China urged the United States to halt its military buildup in outer space after Washington acknowledged it has weapons deployed in orbit, reports BritPanorama.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated that Beijing opposes the weaponization of outer space and the transformation of this domain into a war zone.
“We urge the U.S. to stop expanding military buildup in outer space, and uphold global strategic stability with concrete actions,” Guo told a regular news briefing on Tuesday.
U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink remarked on Monday that the United States had “on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action,” marking the strongest acknowledgment by a Pentagon official regarding U.S. weapons in orbit. Meink did not specify the types of weapons.
China’s state-backed Global Times reported that this disclosure highlighted Washington’s pursuit of “space hegemony” and could potentially ignite a global space arms race.
Chinese military analyst Song Zhongping indicated that the acknowledgment signifies a shift from merely protecting space assets and relying on ground-based counter-space systems towards the direct deployment of weapons in orbit.
“If the U.S. continues down this path, other countries may be forced to respond,” Song cautioned.
Additionally, state news agency Xinhua analyzed a U.S. orbital military exercise last week, suggesting that Washington’s strategy to weaponize this domain risks creating a “security dilemma,” compelling other nations to enhance their counter-space capabilities, which the United States would then perceive as new threats.
