China Requests Satellite Shoot-Down Data
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Published: 21 Feb 11:25 EST (15:25 GMT)
BEIJING - China called on the U.S. on Feb. 21 to provide information about its shooting down of a defunct U.S. spy satellite and voiced caution about the potential international consequences.
"China is continuing to closely follow the possible harm caused by the U.S. action to outer space security and relevant countries," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said when asked for a reaction to the shoot-down.
"China further requests that the U.S. fulfill its international obligations in earnest and promptly provide to the international community the necessary information and relevant data ... so that relevant countries can take precautions."
A U.S. Navy cruiser hit a defunct U.S. spy satellite with a single missile late Feb. 20 in a successful interception 133 nautical miles in space over the Pacific, the U.S. Defense Department said.
U.S. officials insisted the satellite was shot down to stop it from tumbling to Earth and potentially posing a risk to humans.
But the operation had raised concerns elsewhere that the U.S. was trying to test an anti-satellite weapon, amid rising global tensions about the militarization of space.
Russia's defense ministry said on Feb. 17 that the U.S. plans looked like a veiled weapons test and an "attempt to move the arms race into space."
However, the Chinese reaction on Feb. 21 to the incident appeared less confrontational than earlier in the week.
On Monday, Liu said the government was "highly concerned over the developments" and had asked the U.S. to "ensure that the security of outer space and relevant countries will not be undermined."
China came under similar pressure last year when it used a ballistic missile to destroy one of its aging weather satellites, becoming only the third nation after the U.S. and the former Soviet Union to do so.
The ability to shoot down satellites is seen by many analysts as crucial in future conflicts because of the dependence of modern military equipment on satellite-based communications.
Adm. Timothy Keating, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, on Feb. 21 acknowledged similarities with the Chinese shoot-down but said the U.S. one was significantly different because the U.S. gave public notice first.
"They just shot; they didn't tell anybody about it," he said of the Chinese.
Adding to the tensions, Russia and China last week unveiled plans for a new treaty banning the deployment of any weapons in space - a move the U.S. rejected as "impossible."
In contrast to China, Japan, a close ally of the U.S., sought to allay any fears about the U.S. satellite actions.
"It appears that there is almost no problem," such as shattered debris falling to the earth, chief government spokesman Nobutaka Machimura told reporters on Feb. 21.
READ MORE: Navy hits satellite on first attempt
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