Chinese missile destroys satellite in space

Chinese missile destroys satellite in space
Beijing successfully hits 4-foot target at 530-mile altitude

The prospect of "Star Wars" between China and the West loomed last night after Beijing used a ballistic missile to destroy a satellite in space.

The missile, which hit a 4ft-wide obsolete Chinese weather satellite 530 miles above the Earth, is thought to have been launched from the Xichang space centre in -China's Sichuan province.

It suggests that the Chinese have developed a major new capability that underscores the communist regime's desire to use its military might as well as burgeoning economic power to expand its influence.

"The US believes China's development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of co-operation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area," said Gordon Johndroe, spokes-man for the US National Security Council, yesterday. "We and other countries have expressed our concern regarding this action to the Chinese."

It is understood that Australia and Canada have also protested to China.

The ability to destroy satellites with such precision could undermine the US National Missile Defence programme, a network of rocket interceptors, computers and satellites intended to protect America and its key allies from nuclear attack. It became known as "Son of Star Wars" after President Ronald Reagan's so-called "Star Wars" programme proposed in the 1980s.

The test heightens tensions between Washington and Beijing, which increasingly see one another as long-term strategic rivals in the Pacific. China's navy is undergoing massive expansion that could threaten the independence of its neighbour Taiwan, which is backed by the US.

Taiwan was particularly alarmed at yesterday's announcement because it relies on satellites to monitor cruise missiles pointed towards it from the Chinese mainland.

China is seeking to challenge American military strength in the Far East, including its vital trade routes in the South China Sea and Straits of Malacca.

Short- and medium-range ballistic missiles have been developed with the potential to take on American aircraft carriers.

There has also been investment in new nuclear submarines. The People's Liberation Army Navy has launched as many as 60 ships in the past five years and last March announced that it would build an aircraft carrier.

Chinese military spending more than doubled between 1997 and 2003 and is now estimated to be second only to the US as a percentage of GDP.

One study last year projected that China's annual military budget would be $185 billion by 2025.

Chinese links to Iran are also causing serious concern in Washington. Last month, Beijing signed a $16 billion contract with Teheran to purchase natural gas and develop oil fields.

China and Russia have repeatedly refused to back sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear power programme, which America believes could be used to build a nuclear bomb.

Robert Hewson, a missiles expert with Jane's, the weapons analysts, said yesterday: "The indications are that the system the Chinese used was a KT-2 ground-launched rocket.

"At its first showing in 2002 it was billed as a commercial launch system but anyone with knowledge could tell that it was a tailor-made anti--satellite weapon.

"I was at the showing and it raised a lot of eyebrows. After the show it disappeared. Then this happens."

According to Aviation Week, US Air Force radars detected "signs of orbital distress" after the destruction of the satellite last Thursday, which is likely to result in pieces of debris showering the earth.

The test shows that the Chinese could soon have the capability to destroy the array of commercial satellites operated by the US, Europe, Israel, Russia and Japan.

Testifying before Congress last week, Lt Gen Michael Maples, head of the US Defence Intelligence Agency, warned that "Russia and China continue to be the primary states of concern regarding military space and counter-space programmes".

Other countries, he said, "continue to develop capabilities that have the potential to threaten US space assets, and some have already deployed systems with inherent anti-satellite capabilities, such as satellite-tracking laser range-finding devices and nuclear-armed ballistic missiles".

Beijing and Moscow have both denied seeking space weapons and have called for an international ban on "weaponising space".

In 2004, the US Air Force established the 76th Space Control Squadron, which is capable of using ground-operated electronic jamming devices and missiles to disable foreign satellites.

Last year, the Bush administration unveiled the first new National Space Policy in 10 years.

Robert Joseph, under--secretary for arms control and international security at the State Department, said at the time: "The policy is designed to ensure that our space capabilities are protected in a time of increasing challenges and threats.

"This is imperative because space capabilities are vital to our national security and economic wellbeing."

A Foreign Office spokesman said last night that the Government had raised the issue with China and was asking why the test had been carried out.