China increasing stockpile of anti-satellite weapons

Washington/Beijing: The United States Department of Defence warned that the Chinese military has heavily emphasized on developing anti-satellite technology and weapons. These include kinetic kill missiles, directed-energy weapons, ground-based lasers, space robots and satellite jammers. Earlier, in 2007, China had already presented missiles that could destroy space satellites. The space weapons China developed after that indicated that the country had started preparing massively for space war.

The US Department of Defence has recently released a report named the ‘Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.’ The information presented to the US Congress has drawn attention to Chinese activities directed towards modernization of its defence sector. The report also highlights China’s ambitions in the nuclear and space sector. According to the Pentagon, China has already activated its missile system, which can target low-Earth Orbit satellites from the ground. Also, after that, they have shifted their focus on developing systems and weapons that could destroy satellites in earth’s outermost orbit and are aggressively trying to enhance it further.

The report claims that the main objectives of the space weapons are to ‘blind and deafen the enemy’ by rendering their space capabilities useless. Therefore, the United States blamed China of being duplicitous and said that ‘Chinese experts have stressed on making effective use of their space capabilities for modern warfare while denying such an opportunity to its enemies. China has internationally displayed opposition to the militarization of space. However, in reality, it has been taking aggressive steps to increase the space capabilities of its military’.

China has not released any information about its space weapons after it tested ASAT missiles by destroying a space satellite in 2007. However, the US Department of Defence report mentions the space weapons and technology developed by China in detail. China has created a space surveillance system to monitor satellites and other aspects as well as cyber technology that can be used in space. Furthermore, the US report mentions that the Chinese space weapons included kinetic kill missiles, directed-energy weapons, ground-based lasers, space robots and satellite jammers.

While the United States is drawing attention towards the Chinese activities in space, the UK has also expressed concerns over the issue. Moreover, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has warned that China has used the space for military aggression, which has put the space interests of all countries in danger.

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