China warns US against space arms race after Space Force deploys weapons in orbit

China has called on the United States to cease its preparations for warfare in space following the US Space Force's confirmation of deploying orbital weapons.

The announcement named China and Russia as strategic threats, asserting their advancements in space and counterspace capabilities.

China's foreign ministry has warned against the weaponization and militarization of outer space, urging the US to halt its military expansion in this domain.

Historically, the Outer Space Treaty has prohibited weapons of mass destruction in space, yet countries continue to develop strategies for space-based conflicts involving satellite targeting.

BEIJING, Sept 15 — China urged the United States today to “stop preparing for war” in space, after the US Space Force confirmed it had deployed weapons into orbit for the first time.

Beijing and Washington are key geopolitical rivals and have long sought to expand their interests—and strategic footprints—in space.

The US Space Force said yesterday that it had deployed “on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending... against hostile adversary action”, without providing specifics.

China’s foreign ministry opposed the move, warning against the “weaponisation of outer space, turning it into a battlefield, as well as an arms race there”.

“We urge the US side to stop expanding its military capabilities and preparing for war in outer space,” ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news briefing.

The US Space Force singled out China as a threat in its announcement, saying Beijing “develops and operates space and counterspace capabilities as part of a military modernization strategy”.

It also named Russia, another geopolitical rival, which it said “believes space supremacy will be a decisive factor in future conflicts”.

The militarisation of space is as old as the space race itself—as soon as the Soviet Union launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik, into orbit in 1957, Washington and Moscow began exploring ways to both arm and destroy such spacecraft.

The biggest worry was once about nuclear weapons in space, but the superpowers and other countries signed the Outer Space Treaty in 1967, banning weapons of mass destruction in orbit.

Since then, the United States, China, Russia and India have explored ways to fight in space outside of that treaty, including by targeting rivals’ satellites, which are key for military communications, surveillance and navigation. — AFP

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在美国太空军确认部署轨道武器后，中国呼吁美国停止在太空进行战争的准备工作。

该声明将中国和俄罗斯列为战略威胁，并强调了它们在太空和反太空能力方面的进步。

中国外交部警告不要将外层空间武器化和军事化，敦促美国停止在该领域的军事扩张。

从历史上看，《外层空间条约》禁止在太空部署大规模杀伤性武器，但各国仍在继续制定涉及卫星瞄准的太空冲突战略。

北京，9月15日——在美国太空军证实已首次向轨道部署武器后，中国今天敦促美国“停止在太空进行战争准备”。

北京和华盛顿是重要的地缘政治对手，长期以来一直寻求扩大其在太空的利益和战略影响力。

美国太空军昨天表示，已部署“能够防御敌对行动的在轨太空控制武器”，但没有提供具体细节。

中国外交部反对这一举动，警告不要“将外层空间武器化，将其变成战场，并在那里展开军备竞赛”。

外交部发言人郭家坤在新闻发布会上表示：“我们敦促美方停止扩大其在太空的军事能力，停止在太空进行战争准备。”

美国太空军在声明中特别指出中国构成威胁，称北京“发展和运营太空和反太空能力，作为军事现代化战略的一部分”。

报告还点名了另一个地缘政治对手俄罗斯，称俄罗斯“认为太空优势将是未来冲突的决定性因素”。

太空军事化与太空竞赛本身一样古老——早在 1957 年苏联将世界上第一颗人造卫星“斯普特尼克”发射入轨后，华盛顿和莫斯科就开始探索武装和摧毁此类航天器的方法。

曾经最大的担忧是太空中的核武器，但超级大国和其他国家在 1967 年签署了《外层空间条约》，禁止在轨道上部署大规模杀伤性武器。

此后，美国、中国、俄罗斯和印度一直在探索在《太空条约》之外进行太空作战的方式，包括攻击对手的卫星，这些卫星对于军事通信、监视和导航至关重要。——法新社

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