recent test of an anti-satellite weapon should not be regarded by any
country as a threat nor does it signal the beginning of a race to militarize space, the State Department said Monday.
Assistant Secretary of
Christopher Hill raised the issue with Chinese officials over the weekend in
Beijing. China has not made a public announcement
of the Jan. 11 test but officials acknowledged it during their meeting with
Hill, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
Hill, who heads the State
Department's East Asia bureau, told the Chinese they should be more transparent
about their military activities and their defense budget. These issues have been
a long-running concern of the United States, and McCormack said the Chinese
have taken only "baby steps'' thus far toward more openness.
He said the United States
seeks "greater understanding of exactly what their intent was'' in testing the
anti-satellite weapon. He said Hill asked for details of the test and what
plans China may have for future tests.
"All of this is designed,
really, to avoid any sort of misunderstandings, not only with the United
States, but other countries around the world,'' McCormack said.
Hill was in Beijing as part
of a three-nation visit to exchange views on the six-party North Korea
denuclearization process. He also visited South Korea and Japan.
In criticizing the test on
Friday, the State Department said "modern life as we know it'' depends on the
security of space-based technology.
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