China calls for data release amid weapon test fears

CHINA asked the US yesterday to release data on the shootdown of an ailing spy satellite, while the Communist Party’s newspaper blasted what it called Washington’s callous attitude toward the “weaponisation” of space.

China had registered its objections well before the satellite’s destruction.

“China requests the US ... provide to the international community necessary information and relevant data in a timely and prompt way,” said spokesman Liu Jianchao.

In contrast, the overseas edition of People’s Daily excoriated Washington for opposing a recent Russian-Chinese proposal on demilitarising space.

China’s objections signal its scepticism over whether the satellite downing was truly necessary and its unease over apparent US mastery of a key military technology that Beijing is also pursuing.

Shen Dingli, an America watcher at Fudan University in Shanghai, said: “The concern is whether the US version of the story is true: whether that satellite is indeed failing and out of control and if this kind of missile shooting is the best way to remove the threat.”

Or, he said, the reasons could be a pretext for an anti-satellite weapons test.