beijing • China has called for a treaty to stop the spread of weapons in outer space, state media reported yesterday, two months after it blew up an ageing weather satellite, prompting fears about its own space plans.
China’s ambassador to UN bodies in Geneva, Tang Guoqiang, said a 40-year-old agreement was not enough to ensure peace in space.
“The current Outer Space Treaty has clear inadequacies in preventing the weaponisation of outer space and arms races in outer space,” Tang told a UN committee meeting, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Tang said states had a “common duty” to create an international treaty banning the “weaponisation” of outer space — a term that means siting weapons there or using weapons directed into space. Many satellites now serve military ends but are not themselves weapons.
Tang’s comments contrasted with Beijing’s Jan. 11 test-firing of a ballistic missile that pulverised one of its own satellites about 537miles above Earth.
China has given little explanation for the test, saying only that it was for peaceful purposes and not directed at other countries.
Some experts said the display was probably intended to press Washington to enter negotiations to control military use of space.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement on Monday that, among other things, urged negotiations on a treaty banning weapons in outer space.
But US officials and lawmakers have said China’s moves could spark military competition in space and eventually threaten US plans to maintain overwhelming dominance in space.
They also warned that floating fragments from the destroyed satellite could damage other space traffic.
Earlier this month, congressional figures in security policy from both the Democratic and Republican parties urged policy changes in answer to China’s test.
Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona said China’s test underscored “real and growing” threats to US space security that required drawing “bright lines” to deter such moves.
Tang’s published comments did not mention the satellite test, But he did say his country was worried about growing volumes of space junk and fragments.
