On Tuesday, China asked the United States “to cease preparing for a war in space”. The reaction comes after the American military confirmed for the first time that the United States has deployed weapons in orbit.
“We urge the American side to stop the deployment of its military capabilities and cease preparing for a war in space,” stated the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jiakun.
The US Space Force announced on Monday that it has “orbital space control weapon systems capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile actions of adversaries,” writes Agerpres. The US Army did not specify what type of weapon it is, but informed that it can be used both for defensive and offensive purposes.
The USA believes that its main geopolitical rivals, China and Russia, also consider space a potential theater of war.
The main concern was represented by nuclear weapons in space. In 1967, the major powers, along with other states, signed the Treaty on Outer Space, which prohibits the deployment of weapons of mass destruction in Earth’s orbit.
The United States, China, Russia, and India have since studied ways to conduct combat operations in space that are not covered by this treaty, especially by targeting their rivals’ satellites, essential for military communications, surveillance, and navigation.