China warns of space arms race; Russia threatens response to U.S. hypersonic advances

China warns of 'Arms Race in Outer Space'

AP - GENEVA — China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi called Wednesday for international diplomacy to avert an "arms race in outer space."

Space should be reserved for peaceful purposes, Yang told the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

"Outer space is now facing the looming danger of weaponization," he said. "Credible and effective multilateral measures must be taken to forestall the weaponization and arms race in outer space."

China and Russia have been vocal advocates of a global treaty against space-based weapons and argue for this to be included in future Conference of Disarmament negotiations.

The United States has dismissed the criticism as designed to block its plans for a missile interceptor system — while leaving untouched Chinese and Russian ground-based missiles that can fire into space.

"Countries should neither develop missile defense systems that undermine global strategic stability nor deploy weapons in outer space," Yang said.

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Russia to upgrade air-space defense:
air force commander
Zelin says response to U.S. hypersonic advances

Xinhua -Russia will improve its air and space defense systems to counter possible threats from other nations, the country's air force commander said Tuesday.

Other countries, particularly the United States, will acquire new weapons such as hypersonic vehicles by 2030, and therefore will be able to deliver coordinated high-precision strikes from air and space against any target on Russian territory, Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin told a news conference.

Russia needs to upgrade its weapons and systems in order to counter such a potential, Zelin said.

In line with the new concept, air-space defense brigades will be created within the Russian Air Force and will be equipped with advanced S-400 and S-500 air defense systems, he said.

"The S-500 system is being developed under an original design ... and will be capable of destroying hypersonic and ballistic targets," Zelin said.

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From Russia, with ambivalence?

According to Stevie Smith of The Tech Herald, Russia has officially entered a space arms race, "Following a retired Russian general’s suggestion that February’s satellite collision was engineered by the United States, a deputy defence minister for the Russian government has revealed the country is developing an anti-satellite weapons system."

"According to an Associated Press report, General Valentin Popovkin has said the weapons array is being created as a way for Russia to push the modernisation of its nuclear capabilities and maintain momentum alongside similar technology held by other nations."

Meanwhile, according to Novosti, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said "an arms race in outer space is inadmissible and called on other world powers to unite efforts in countering missile threats."

"Prevention of an arms race in space will contribute to ensuring the predictability of the strategic situation and preserving the orbital property," Sergei Lavrov told a disarmament conference in Geneva, adding that all states using space objects for civilian purposes should be interested in it."

Lavrov said that in February last year Russia and China submitted a draft international treaty on prevention of outer space weaponization.

"We plan, jointly with China, to submit to your consideration soon a document generalizing the results of discussions that have taken place at the conference and containing reaction to comments on the draft treaty. We hope the document will become a good help for future talks," the Russian minister said.