China warns of space ‘battlefield’ after US confirms weapons deployed in Earth’s orbit for first time

China has warned space could soon turn into a “battlefield” after the United States has admitted to having stationed arms in orbit around the Earth.

The US announcement marked a new stage in the major powers’ rush for military space capabilities, driven by rapid technological advancements but lacking a comprehensive legal framework.

Washington’s timing of the admission has also risked exacerbating already simmering tensions with Beijing and creating a weapons race in space.

Why is there a need for weapons in space?

The militarisation of space is not new.

Exploring ways to both arm and destroy satellites has been explored since 1957. According to reports, in March 2019 India said it had destroyed a low-orbiting satellite, following the actions of Russia, China and the US, in a missile test that proved the nation was among the world’s most advanced space powers.

Russia and China, who are Washington’s two main geopolitical rivals, reportedly pose as potential threats to US interests in space.

China “develops and operates space and counterspace capabilities as part of a military modernisation strategy,” according to the US Space Force.

Russia, meanwhile, “views space as a warfighting domain and believes space supremacy will be a decisive factor in future conflicts”, it said.

What weapons could the US deploy in space?

The US has stopped short of revealing exactly what weapons it has deployed in space or how many are currently in operation.

Its statement instead outlined the broad capabilities available to the military as it seeks to strengthen its ability to operate and respond to threats beyond Earth.

“Space control encapsulates the mission areas required to contest and control the space domain — employing kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect adversary capabilities,” the statement said.

“These capabilities can be employed for offensive and defensive purposes,” it added.

While kinetic capabilities could involve physically targeting or disrupting an adversary’s space assets, non-kinetic options could include lasers capable of blinding satellites, as well as electromagnetic or cyber attacks designed to jam or interfere with critical data links.

Rules and regulations for space weapons?

Fears over weapons in space were once dominated by the prospect of nuclear arms orbiting Earth, prompting global powers to establish rules aimed at preventing an extraterrestrial arms race.

The Outer Space Treaty was signed in 1967, prohibiting countries from placing nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit.

But in the decades since, Russia, the United States, China and India have developed and explored other forms of space warfare that fall outside the treaty’s restrictions, BBC reported.

Much of that focus has shifted towards the ability to disrupt or destroy an adversary’s satellites, which have become increasingly critical to modern military operations, including communications, intelligence gathering, surveillance and navigation.

“There is a regulatory vacuum because article 4 of the 1967 treaty only forbids weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons in orbit,” said space law expert Laetitia Cesari.

The growing debate over how military activity in space should be regulated is expected to feature at the next United Nations disarmament meeting in November.

But major powers remain divided over what new international rules should look like.

“Moscow and Beijing have been wanting to work for about 20 years on a treaty to prevent the placement of weapons in space,” while “Western states are trying instead to work on the notion of responsible behaviour,” Ms Cesari said.

The latest US announcement could now add further momentum to demands for tougher restrictions governing what countries are allowed to deploy beyond Earth.

The US announcement “will likely give impetus to the restrictive approach that Moscow and Beijing are pushing for,” she said.

Responses from China and Russia

China’s foreign ministry has issued a stark warning to the move. “Weaponisation of outer space, turning it into a battlefield, as well as an arms race there”.

“The US has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action,” a US Space Force spokesperson said in a statement that did not provide specifics on the weapons.

Song Zhongping, an independent military commentator based in Hong Kong and former Chinese army instructor, told AFP the announcement was “no surprise at all” as the fact that the US possessed such weapons “has long been an open secret”.

“China will not stand by and do nothing,” he warned, noting Beijing already had its own space station in orbit.

“Whether China deploys weapons in space will depend entirely on whether the United States moves in that direction,” he said.

The Wall Street Journal said Beijing supplied Iran with satellite imagery that enabled Tehran to precisely target military facilities and kill US service members in Jordan in July, a claim China has denied.

Russia, meanwhile, called for space to be kept “free of any weapons”.