The Guardian 31 January, 2007
China's message to US imperialism:
Demand for space peace treaty
In an important statement by the People’s Republic of China, Ambassador Hu Xiaodi at the UN Conference on Disarmament in 2005 raised the critical significance of space in modern military strategy. Because of "its unique commanding position of height, outer space has been attached with an ever more important military and strategic value", he said. The rapid development of science and technology has provided material conditions for outer space to become platforms for warfare.
The speech noted that "currently the relevant warfare theories and concepts such as ‘control of outer space’ and ‘space forces projection’ are being codified. There is added urgency to the issue of prevention of an arms race in outer space."
At the 2005 meeting the representative of the Russian Federation proposed that one way to avoid the weaponisation of space, was to close the loopholes in current international space law by evolving a new and comprehensive international legal agreement to block opportunities to deploy any type of weapon in space, or use force or the threat of force with respect to spacecraft.
In 2002 China, the Russian Federation, Vietnam, Indonesia, Belarus, Zimbabwe and Syria jointly drafted and circulated a Working Paper at the UN titled "Possible Elements for a Future International Legal Agreement on the Prevention and Deployment of Weapons in Outer Space". It set out the case for a treaty based on the prohibition of weapons in outer space. All attempts to develop a treaty have been opposed by the US.
The Preamble to the draft said: "Outer space is the common heritage of mankind and plays an ever-increasing role in its future development. There exists a potential danger or an armed confrontation with combatant activities being extended to outer space. The prevention of the deployment of weapons and an arms race in outer space become a pressing task facing the international community."
Under the space policy authorised by George W Bush, the United States asserts a completely bogus right to "freedom of action in space" and also says it will "deter others from either impeding those rights or developing capabilities intended to do so."
The US spy satellites looking into other countries, their communication satellites that eavesdrop on phone and other communications are part of the "freedom of action in space", yet the Chinese destroying their own weather satellite apparently is something that "is impeding those rights or developing capabilities intended to do so".
The US military is increasingly dependent on sophisticated satellites for communicating, gathering intelligence and guiding missiles. The possibility that these space-based systems could come under attack has clearly created great consternation to US strategic planners as their space monopoly is being broken, particularly by the China’s spectacular technological advancement.
In a very significant speech in late December last year, a senior Bush official, the Undersecretary of State Robert Joseph, threatened nations that are "acquiring capabilities to counter, attack and defeat US space systems." He said, the United States must increase its ability to protect vital space equipment with new technologies and policies.
Joseph made clear that the Bush regime would react forcefully to any attempt to what he called "interfere" with US space technology. Ingenuously he invoked a non-existent right under international law to "… reserve the right to defend ourselves against hostile attacks and interference with our space assets. We will, therefore, oppose others who wish to use their military capabilities to impede or deny our access to and use of space. We will seek the best capabilities to protect our space assets by active or passive means."
The answer from China to the US imperialist claims to monopoly and unilateral "rights" to militarise and exploit outer space, to its refusal to even consider an international outer space peace treaty, to the growing US military threat to its oil and natural gas supplies in the Middle East, and to the increasingly hostile posture of Japan in North East Asia, was delivered on January 11 about 850 kilometres in the sky.
The US is the only nation to oppose discussion of the proposed space treaty which aims to prevent the stationing of weapons in space by any nation.