BEIJING, April 28 -- The US and Japan fabricated and exaggerated the so-called “space threat” from China with the objective to generate an excuse for their own space armament expansion and dominant position acquisition, and China is firmly opposed to such a practice, said Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, at a regular press conference on Thursday.
According to the media, the US Defense Intelligence Agency recently released a report claiming that the Chinese military owns and operates about half of the world's ISR systems to monitor, track and target the US and its allies. Meanwhile, the Japanese side also would establish a Space Operations Corps and enhance the budget allocated to space-related defense to counter China's "space threat".
In this regard, Tan said that it is the US that has continued to boost space militarization with the Cold War mentality in recent years. He illustrated that the US has declared space to be a war domain, created the United States Space Command, established the space force, aggressively developed and deployed offensive space weapons, and frequently held military exercises such as Schriever Wargame, Global Sentinel and Space Flag.
The spokesperson pointed out that the US, as the country with most satellites, has intensively launched all kinds of satellites, including the ones for military reconnaissance. The US has purchased the commercial satellite services worth billions of dollars for military use, and it is also a passive opponent on the space arms control.
The spokesperson added that the US has completely rejected the draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force against Space Objects (PPWT) proposed by China and Russia for the reason of technical issues. It has also blocked the adoption of the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) by the UN Group of Governmental Experts, making the relevant international efforts at a standstill. Tan continued that Japan is also speeding up the process of space military construction and forming the space combat force. The aforementioned actions have increased the risk of weaponization and arms race in outer space and negatively affected global strategic stability. The international community should pay close attention to these moves.
Senior Colonel Tan said that exploring the unknown cosmos and developing space technology is the common cause of mankind. The April 24th this year marks the seventh Space Day of China. China always sticks to the peaceful utilization of space, and is actively committed to the prevention of space weaponization and space arms race, and actively promotes international cooperation in space. For example, since the implementation of China's manned space program, China has signed the cooperation agreements with multiple international space agencies and organizations, and engaged in diversified cooperative activities, winning high praise from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Not long ago, the taikonaut crew of Chinese Shenzhou-13 also conducted a "Tiangong Q&A" interaction with American teenagers. They answered questions about taikonauts' daily diet and life, and about how to observe the evolution of life in the space station.
He stressed that China is willing to work with all countries and regions that are committed to peaceful utilization of space to strengthen international exchanges and cooperation, promote building of a community with a shared future for mankind in the space field, and positively contribute to maintaining lasting peace and common security in space and promoting progress of human civilization.