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China Calls on US to Halt Military Expansion in Outer Space
(MENAFN) China called on the United States Tuesday to halt its military expansion in outer space, following Washington's unprecedented public confirmation that it has deployed operational weapons in Earth's orbit.
"China has long been committed to the peaceful use of outer space and safeguarding the security in space. We oppose any arms race in outer space or any attempts to weaponize it or turn it into a war zone," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.
"We urge the US to stop expanding military buildup in outer space and safeguard global strategic stability with concrete actions," Guo added.
The statement followed comments Monday from US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, who confirmed that the Space Force maintains operational weapons in orbit designed to respond to adversary threats. "We continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenge of evolving threats wherever they exist," Meink said, speaking at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference.
"This is why the Space Force now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action," he added.
Meink, who leads the department overseeing both the US Air Force and Space Force, declined to specify when these weapons became operational, detail their capabilities, or confirm whether they involve kinetic impactors, directed energy, electronic warfare or cyber tools.
Speaking further with reporters, Meink characterized the public disclosure as intentional, noting the language used had been "very well thought out" to reinforce deterrence. "Talking about the details of what we're doing would actually not benefit that deterrence," he said.
"We're not going to talk about the specifics of what we're doing, whether we've tested, not tested, or anything else. I would just say that the space environment is critical for military and economic security, and we need to make sure that the US can operate freely there."
He continued: "It is critically important that we maintain our dominance, not only in the air but in space. So, we've had to take steps to make sure that when we're threatened, we can take care of that."
The disclosure lands amid intensifying military rivalry in space among the US, China and Russia — all of which have pursued counter-space capabilities in recent years.
While the 1967 Outer Space Treaty bans the placement of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in orbit, it stops short of explicitly prohibiting conventional weapons in space.
Security analysts have cautioned that publicly acknowledging orbital weapons deployments risks prompting rival powers to accelerate their own space-based arsenals, potentially fueling an arms race in a domain that has become increasingly critical to global communications, navigation, intelligence gathering and military operations.
"China has long been committed to the peaceful use of outer space and safeguarding the security in space. We oppose any arms race in outer space or any attempts to weaponize it or turn it into a war zone," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.
"We urge the US to stop expanding military buildup in outer space and safeguard global strategic stability with concrete actions," Guo added.
The statement followed comments Monday from US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, who confirmed that the Space Force maintains operational weapons in orbit designed to respond to adversary threats. "We continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenge of evolving threats wherever they exist," Meink said, speaking at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference.
"This is why the Space Force now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action," he added.
Meink, who leads the department overseeing both the US Air Force and Space Force, declined to specify when these weapons became operational, detail their capabilities, or confirm whether they involve kinetic impactors, directed energy, electronic warfare or cyber tools.
Speaking further with reporters, Meink characterized the public disclosure as intentional, noting the language used had been "very well thought out" to reinforce deterrence. "Talking about the details of what we're doing would actually not benefit that deterrence," he said.
"We're not going to talk about the specifics of what we're doing, whether we've tested, not tested, or anything else. I would just say that the space environment is critical for military and economic security, and we need to make sure that the US can operate freely there."
He continued: "It is critically important that we maintain our dominance, not only in the air but in space. So, we've had to take steps to make sure that when we're threatened, we can take care of that."
The disclosure lands amid intensifying military rivalry in space among the US, China and Russia — all of which have pursued counter-space capabilities in recent years.
While the 1967 Outer Space Treaty bans the placement of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in orbit, it stops short of explicitly prohibiting conventional weapons in space.
Security analysts have cautioned that publicly acknowledging orbital weapons deployments risks prompting rival powers to accelerate their own space-based arsenals, potentially fueling an arms race in a domain that has become increasingly critical to global communications, navigation, intelligence gathering and military operations.
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