China has called on the United States to "stop preparing for war" in space, CNN reports. The call came after the US Space Force confirmed that it had deployed weapons in orbit for the first time.
Beijing and Washington are major geopolitical rivals and have long sought to expand their interests and strategic presence in space.
Yesterday, the US Space Force announced that it had deployed "space control weapons in orbit capable of defending against hostile actions by the enemy", but did not provide further details.
China's Foreign Ministry opposed the move and warned against "turning space into a weapon and battlefield, as well as an arms race there".
"We call on the US side to stop expanding its military capabilities and preparing for war in space," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo told a briefing. Jiakun.
The US Space Force has identified China as a threat and noted that Beijing is "developing and employing capabilities to operate in space and to counter the space capabilities of other countries as part of its strategy to modernize its armed forces".
Russia, another geopolitical rival of the US, was also named as a threat. According to Washington, Moscow "believes that superiority in space will be a decisive factor in future conflicts".
The military race in space dates back to the very beginning of the space race. As soon as the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite — "Sputnik" — In 1957, Washington and Moscow began exploring ways to both arm and destroy spacecraft.
Initially, the biggest concern was the deployment of nuclear weapons in space. In 1967, however, the two superpowers and other nations signed the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, which prohibits the deployment of weapons of mass destruction in orbit.
Since then, the United States, China, Russia, and India have been exploring ways to conduct military operations in space outside the scope of that treaty, including by targeting adversaries’ satellites, which are crucial for military communications, surveillance, and navigation.