China warns US space weapons could fuel arms race

China has urged the United States to cease its military expansion in outer space, warning that it could spark a global arms race. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, stated that Beijing opposes weaponizing space and turning it into a battlefield. "We urge the U.S. to stop expanding military build-up in outer space, and uphold global strategic stability with concrete actions," Guo said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink confirmed that the United States possesses "on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action," marking the most definitive acknowledgment to date of U.S. weapons in orbit. However, Meink declined to specify the nature of these weapons.

Chinese state media, through its Global Times, alleged that the disclosure revealed Washington's pursuit of "space hegemony" and potentially ignited a global space arms race. Military analyst Song Zhongping told the newspaper that the acknowledgment signaled a shift from safeguarding space assets and utilizing ground-based counter-space systems to directly deploying weapons in orbit. If the U.S. persists on this trajectory, other nations may feel compelled to counter with their own space capabilities, Song warned.

Last week, state news agency Xinhua commented on a U.S. military exercise in orbit, asserting that the push to weaponize this domain heightens the risk of a "security dilemma." This could compel other countries to bolster their counter-space capabilities, which the United States might subsequently view as new threats.