China and U.S. Battle in Outer Space

The battle for the control of outer space, which had calmed down after the Cold War, has resumed. Its main participants are Beijing and Washington. Disregarding the agreements that say outer space should not be used to military ends, they are knocking down their own satellites. In the opinion of a Nezavisimaya expert, Russia is not a part of this race.

The website WikiLeaks revealed this new sensation. From U.S. diplomatic archives it is clear that they clandestinely tested their anti-satellite weapons. On Feb. 20, 2008, the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Lake Erie launched a missile that struck the spy satellite USA 193. The SM-3 rocket flew up to 150 miles above the ground and hit its target. This test occurred a year after China hit its own satellite.

So has begun a new secret war in outer space, proclaimed the British newspaper The Telegraph, to which WikiLeaks gave a selection of documents that were saved in the American government’s electronic archives.

An exchange of harsh declarations along diplomatic channels between Washington and Beijing preceded U.S. military operations in outer space.

Recall that on Jan.11, 2007, a Chinese ballistic missile destroyed a satellite that was being used to gather data about the weather. The satellite flew at a height of 530 miles above Earth. Through that the People’s Republic of China demonstrated its ability to disrupt satellite communication, without which the majority of American armed forces would end up in a vulnerable position.

Washington was furious. The American ambassador in Beijing filed a protest against the Chinese government in the strongest of terms. Although American public opinion was comparatively reserved, then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice informed Beijing that America can also employ military force to protect its space systems.

“Any purposeful interference with U.S. space systems will be interpreted by the U.S. as an infringement of its rights and considered an escalation in a crisis or conflict,” stated Rice. In this regard, а threat to respond with various measures, including military measures, rang out. The secretary of state also pointed out that America had not tested space weapons since 1985.

But one month later, the U.S. had changed its course. Then-U.S. President George Bush decided that diplomacy alone was insufficient. At that point the American spy satellite was knocked down. Officially, Washington promoted the story that it was done in order to prevent its fuel tank — with toxic matter — from falling to Earth.

In fact, the American government sanctioned the testing of space weaponry. In a file marked “secret,” it is noted that the rocket launch was executed by the U.S. command as a test of anti-satellite equipment.

The weapons race in outer space continues to gain momentum. In January 2010 American intelligence spotted a new Chinese experiment. This time Beijing destroyed one of its own rockets at a height of 150 miles above Earth.

The United States called this a test of anti-satellite weaponry. Current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also lodged a protest against Beijing and demanded an answer to the question: In what direction is the Chinese missile defense program developing?

Beijing did not wait long to respond and accused the U.S. of building offensive laser weapons that can destroy Chinese missiles over PRC territory.

In an interview with Nezavisimaya Gazeta, independent expert Lieutenant-General (ret.) Gennady Evstafiev said, “The WikiLeaks information that the Americans ran an anti-satellite weapons test may be credible. It was an answer to China. Nevertheless they accomplished their goal. The world gasped, having seen the kind of capability China has.”

“This event didn’t cause us to react sharply. Maybe because we’ve been through this already. In 1972 the Soviet Union and the United States agreed not to send weapons into outer space. This was a part of the anti-ballistic missile agreement. But under Bush, America withdrew from this agreement. The agreement not to send weapons into space remains but is constantly eroding. Americans say that they will act in accordance with their national security interests.”

“As concerns Russia’s position, Russia firmly stands against the militarization of outer space.”