China accuses US of militarizing space following protest over Navy plane's Taiwan Strait transit
Amid a freeze in military-to-military contacts, China is accusing the United States of militarizing outer space, a day after it protested the passage of a Navy P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft through the Taiwan Strait
BEIJING (AP) — Amid a freeze in military-to-military contacts, China is accusing the United States of militarizing outer space, a day after it protested the passage of a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft through the Taiwan Strait.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Col. Tan Kefei said on Friday that U.S. actions, including the establishment of the Space Force in 2019 as the newest branch of the military, have “had a great negative impact on space security and global strategic stability.”
“In recent years, the United States has accelerated the militarization of space,” Tan said. “I would like to reiterate here that China adheres to the peaceful use of space, firmly opposes the weaponization and the making of space into a battlefield, and opposes any form of arms race in space."
The ministry said Tan was responding to recent concerns expressed by Space Force leaders over China's rising capabilities, calling that “classic cognitive dissonance.” China's advances in space include its own orbiting space station and plans for a crewed lunar mission. In 2007, it faced international condemnation after using a missile to blow up one of its defunct weather satellites, leaving a field of debris that continues to threaten other objects in orbit.
