anti-satellite weapons test but insisted it wasn't militarizing space, nearly two weeks after the event that alarmed the world and prompted
questions about Beijing's motives.
Both the United States and
Japan have expressed concern about the Jan. 11 test, in which China used a missile to
shoot down one of its own old weather satellites. Both countries criticized it
as a step toward militarizing outer space and demanded explanations from
Beijing.
In China's first public
comment about the test, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said it has
shown a "responsible attitude'' by offering explanations to the U.S. and Japan
and insisted Beijing has all along "upheld the peaceful use of outer space.''
"China opposes the
weaponization of space and any arms race,'' Liu said, adding that it has never
and will not participate in any outer space arms race.
"The test is not targeted
at any country and will not threaten any country,'' he said at a regular
briefing.
Liu did not explain why China had not
commented earlier on the test, which was likely carried out under the auspices
of its highly
secretive, military-dominated space program.
The Bush administration
said it detected the test but kept it secret for a week while it weighed its
significance. It was first reported in Aviation Week magazine last week.
"The United States believes
China's development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit
of cooperation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area,''
National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said on Jan. 18. "We and
other countries have expressed our concern to the Chinese.''
Britain and Australia were
among other countries also were concerned that debris caused by the test could
scatter and strike other satellites orbiting the Earth.
Because China's weather satellites would travel at about the
same altitude as U.S. spy satellites, analysts also said the test represented
an indirect threat to U.S. defense systems.
Foreign Ministry officials
told U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill about the test in a
weekend meeting in Beijing.
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 to "avoid any sort of
misunderstandings, not only with the United States, but other countries around
the world,'' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday.
China is listed as a
country of highest concern for the United States, along with North Korea and
Iran, in potential for development of unconventional weapons.
While Beijing has worked
with the United States to induce Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear weapons
program, it also maintains cordial diplomatic and trade relations with some of
the world's most repressive countries including Sudan, Zimbabwe and Myanmar.
The test also comes as ties
between China and Japan remain precarious because of ongoing disputes over territorial
issues, use of maritime resources and interpretations of wartime history.
Chinese military
modernization has been a key security concern for Tokyo, a top U.S. ally in
Asia.
Beijing has repeatedly
pledged peaceful development of its army - the world's largest - but has caused
unease among its neighbors by announcing double-digit military spending
increases nearly every year since the early 1990s.
It has spent heavily on
beefing up its arsenal with submarines, jet fighters and other high-tech
weapons.
A report issued last month
by the State Council, China's cabinet, said the air force was giving priority
to the development of new fighters as well as air and missile defense weapons.
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