TOKYO: The international community has become increasingly concerned over China carrying out the test in which it destroyed an aging satellite using a ground missile. While the United States expressed its strong concern over the act, Japan, Britain, Australia and Canada vehemently opposed the act saying it violated the agreed use of space for peaceful purposes.
China continued to maintain silence and has not reacted to the international criticism so far. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson refused to confirm or deny the test but maintained China is opposed to an arms race in space.
A senior Japanese government representative told a news conference in Tokyo Friday the issue concerns the terms of use of space as well as safety aspect. The government has asked China for confirmation that the test had taken place and for an explanation of what China's intentions were.
A spokesperson for British prime minister Tony Blair said Britain is worried about the impact of the debris in space. He said the test was inconsistent with the spirit of China's statement to the U.N. and other bodies on the military use of space.
The U.S., Australia and Canada have earlier conveyed their similar concerns to Beijing.
China used a ground-based medium-range ballistic missile to destroy an aging weather satellite, the Feng Yun 1C polar orbit weather satellite, about 537 miles above Earth on 11 January. The U.S. National Security Council, which monitored the act, described the procedure used as "kinetic impact."
The U.S. had carried out similar tests in the cold war era, but had abandoned it since 1985, mainly concerned with the accumulation of debris in the space and potential threat to other civilian and military satellites in orbit.
Scientists say the destroyed satellite would have converted into several thousands of pieces of all shapes, sizes and weight, most of them continuing to stay in space and orbit.
Some strategists see the Chinese action as directed against the United States, which today is the only superpower ruling the space. They also warn that China, with its new-found wealth and prowess, could still be not able to keep its promise of using the space for peaceful purposes.
Some analysts argue the act could be a signal for the U.S. to talk in terms of a treaty banning use of space for arms race. They point out that the U.S. administration had ruled out any such treaties.
China has shown its space capabilities in the recent times. It is the third country, besides the U.S. and Russia, to send a manned space flight. It is now in the process of readying a mission to Moon, sending a robot there to collect the soil on the Moon's surface.
