US deploys weapons in space, China-Russia call to stop ‘war preparations’

China has called on Washington to stop ‘war preparations’ in space after the US Space Force confirmed the deployment of weapons in orbit for the first time.

The two global rivals, the United States and China, have long been trying to increase their influence and military capabilities in space. In the meantime, the US Space Force informed on Monday that ‘space control weapons’ or orbital control weapons capable of countering hostile moves have been deployed. However, the agency did not disclose any specific information on the matter citing military security reasons.

China’s Foreign Ministry has strongly opposed this move by the United States. Beijing has warned against the weaponisation of space, turning space into a battlefield and starting a new arms race.

At a news briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said, “We call on the US side to stop increasing military capabilities and preparing for war in space.”

The US Space Force has directly mentioned China as a threat in its announcement. The agency claimed that Beijing is creating and operating space and anti-space military capabilities as part of its military modernisation strategy.

The name of Russia, another geopolitical rival of the United States, is also on the list. According to the US Space Force, Moscow believes that dominance in space will become the key determinant in future conflicts.

Since the former Soviet Union launched the world’s first artificial satellite ‘Sputnik’ in 1957, Washington and Moscow began looking for ways to deploy weapons in space and destroy the opponent’s spacecraft.

To reduce the risk of deploying nuclear weapons in space, the United States, the Soviet Union and other powers signed the ‘Outer Space Treaty’ in 1967. The treaty banned the deployment of weapons of mass destruction in orbit.

However, staying within the limitations of the treaty, the United States, China, Russia and India subsequently continued to work on developing technology to disable or destroy artificial satellites used by opponents for military communication, surveillance and navigation.

As a result, the apprehension of a new arms race centred on space has been created. China believes the latest move by the United States has further increased that concern.