Beijing: After the United States confirmed deploying weapons in space, China sounded a note of caution and warning on Tuesday, urging the Donald Trump administration to stop preparing for war in space.
“We urge the US to stop expanding its military presence and preparing for war in outer space, and to take concrete actions to uphold global strategic stability,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun.
Guo reminded the US that China has consistently advocated for the peaceful use of outer space, worked to safeguard security in outer space, and opposed its weaponisation, transformation into a battlefield, and any arms race in space.
Hours earlier, US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink spoke about deployment of weapons in space.
“Today, we continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenges of evolving threats wherever they exist. This is why the United States now has, on orbit, space-control weapons, capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversaries,” Meink stated on Monday, without providing details.
It was the first time the US acknowledged the deployment of weapons in space.
Though Russia, China and India have capabilities to destroy satellites from Earth, no other country has confirmed sending weapons into space.
The US government earlier announced that its upcoming Golden Dome air defence system would have space-based interceptors to take down missiles launched at the United States.
The weapon that Meink referred to could be “some kind of electronic warfare or radio jamming platform”, Bleddyn Bowen of the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) told BBC News.