China On Anti-Satellite Weapons Testing: Hope US Will Keep Promises

China hopes that the US will remain committed to its promises regarding military actions in outer space, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday.

On Monday, US Vice President Kamala Harris announced the decision to ban the country’s anti-satellite weapon tests as “destructive.”
“We hope that the American side will truly assume the obligations of a major power, revise a number of its own negative actions in outer space, stop the hypocritical practice of expanding its military superiority under the pretext of arms control, and stop blocking the process of coordinating legal documents on arms control in space,” Wang said.

He added that the US is the first country in the world to test anti-satellite weapons, and has conducted the largest number of such tests.

The diplomat stressed that China has always advocated the peaceful use of outer space, noting that China and Russia in 2008 jointly submitted a draft treaty to the Conference on Disarmament which explicitly prohibits the deployment of weapons in space.

The Biden administration’s decision to impose a ban is reportedly in part due to Russia’s successful anti-satellite weapon system test in November 2021, when Moscow destroyed its old spacecraft Celina-D.

Moscow said the test was not directed at anyone and was carried out in accordance with international law, including the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. It also said because of the satellite’s location, the debris poses no threat to other spacecraft, including the International Space Station. (ANI/Sputnik)