Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – China acknowledged test-firing an anti-satellite missile earlier this month but said it was not a threat to other countries or a sign that Beijing was militarising space. The United States was only partially satisfied by China’s statement, urging the Chinese to be more transparent.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said a test was carried out but insisted that China was committed to the "peaceful development of outer space".
"China stresses that it has consistently advocated the peaceful development of outer space and it opposes the arming of space and military competition in space," he told a news conference.
On January 18, the US reported that China had destroyed an orbiting weather satellite a week earlier using a ballistic missile. Until Tuesday, Beijing had refused to confirm or deny the report.
Several countries expressed concern over the test, amid worries it could trigger a space arms race. However, Russia expressed doubts about the test itself suggesting news reports about it were “highly exaggerated rumours”.
No current international treaties or agreements prohibit such anti-satellite tests. But the last one was conducted by the United States in September 1985, and officials and experts say the debris from such tests endanger other satellites.
Over the weekend, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill raised US objections to the test with senior Chinese officials during a visit to Beijing, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
Mr Hill noted that although the test “was not meant as a threat against anybody and it's not meant to spark a race to militarise space,” China should have warned its international partners about it and explained its intentions.
“The bottom line is we encourage them to be more forthcoming, more transparent with respect to not only this test but also their space program," as well their military spending and programmes, Mr McCormack said.
Although the two sides had "made some progress" in building military-to-military ties and communication, Mr McCormack characterised these as "baby steps" and said China needed to be more open about its military spending, "policies and doctrines".
China is the third country to have launched a manned spacecraft and plans to have one of its astronauts perform a spacewalk as early as next year.
China says it spends US$ 500 million on space projects. By contrast, NASA is due to spend US$ 17 billion in 2007.
Mr Hill, the US State Department's top Asia official, was in Beijing for separate talks on organising a new round of six-party negotiations aimed at halting North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.