China satellite-killing weapon rattles US

A top US defence official today called China’s test of a satellite-killing weapon a display of an “obviously destabilising capability” that underlined the need for better communication to defuse possible conflict between the two powers.

Richard Lawless, US deputy under-secretary of defence for Asian and Pacific security affairs, told a congressional advisory panel that the US considers the January 11 destruction of a defunct Chinese weather satellite by a warhead an “unpleasant development”.

He noted that many US military space assets are vulnerable to attack by anti-satellite weapons.

“We have a very serious issue here, with a need to get them into a discussion,” Lawless told the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. “Otherwise, these misunderstandings are going to continue to increase, and we’re going to have a much higher level of concern.”

The test, confirmed by Beijing after nearly two weeks of silence, has sparked outrage around the world and has rattled US lawmakers who had been distracted by a fierce debate over US President George Bush’s handling of the war in Iraq.

It has the potential of worsening a host of tensions between the nations.

These include Washington’s pressure on China to support US efforts in the United Nations to punish Iran’s nuclear ambitions, complaints about China’s military build-up and Washington’s charge that China befriends international reprobates to secure sources of energy.

China said today it was ready to work with other countries on an agreement to prevent an arms race in space. The test made China only the third country after Russia and the US to shoot down anything in space.

Lawless called “far-fetched” the notion that China’s top leaders may not have known of the anti-satellite arms test before it happened. “It is hard to imagine that this was a surprise to the leadership of China,” he said.

Also at today’s hearing, US lawmakers called for legislative action to address a huge trade imbalance with China, reflecting what they described as a growing impatience among US citizens with Beijing’s economic policies.

“It is dangerous for our national security. It is dangerous for our economy, and we need to do something about it,” Democratic Senator Ben Cardin told the advisory panel.

Yesterday, US treasury secretary Henry Paulson told sceptical lawmakers that new high-level talks with China offer the greatest chance of success in reducing a soaring US trade deficit.

But lawmakers from both political parties said they believed China would listen to American complaints only if the country faced punitive economic sanctions.