China’s anti-satellite missile test shocks the world
China shocked the world today when news broke that it blew up an aging weather satellite last week to test its new missile system. Back in October, space security expert Theresa Hitchens told FP of a "rhetorical space race" between the United States and China: There are those in congress and in this administration who ...
China shocked the world today when news broke that it blew up an aging weather satellite last week to test its new missile system. Back in October, space security expert Theresa Hitchens told FP of a "rhetorical space race" between the United States and China:
China shocked the world today when news broke that it blew up an aging weather satellite last week to test its new missile system. Back in October, space security expert Theresa Hitchens told FP of a "rhetorical space race" between the United States and China:
There are those in congress and in this administration who see China as the peer competitor. The Pentagon has, in its document on China's military power, highlighted China's research efforts in the area of space. It claims that the Chinese are probably trying to build anti-satellite weapons.
If you look at Chinese documents, they very much view the United States as a potential adversary in space. They see U.S. policies as trying to contain and block China’s progress as a space power. And second, they also see the value […] of disrupting U.S. space capabilities in any war over Taiwan. So what we're seeing, particularly on the part of the militaries in both countries, is the development of a Cold War-like psychology.
The rhetorical space race may have just become a reality. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman reassures us that "there's no need to feel threatened about this." And today's Times story leans heavily toward the optimistic interpretation that China wants to jolt the United States into negotiating a ban on space weapons. That led Passport's Davis Bosco to write in, "Couldn't the NYT's reporters find anyone willing to offer up the less forgiving explanation: that China actually wants the military capability to threaten satellites?"
John Steinbruner, chairman of the Arms Control Association board and a leading expert on this subject, agrees with the overall thrust of the Times piece. But he told Passport that there may nevertheless be reason to worry:
Why are the Chinese doing this now, and why are they doing it such a dramatic fashion? It's not their usual style. And that is itself both puzzling an disturbing. One would have expected a great deal more subtlety from them, and it runs the risk of validating the Bush administration's contentions. So, it's hard to imagine a benign logic that would lead them to this, and in that sense it's pretty worrisome.
FP contributor Jeffrey G. Lewis of Arms Control Wonk is flooding the zone on this one, so be sure to check out his detailed coverage.
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