A high-level Chinese air force officer has urged his nation to drop its opposition to the militarization of outer space and to begin developing orbital weapons and defense systems, the London Telegraph reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 27).
"As far as the revolution in military affairs is concerned, the competition between military forces is moving towards outer space. This is a historical inevitability and a development that cannot be turned back," Xu Qiliang told the People's Liberation Army Daily.
"The PLA air force must establish in a timely manner the concepts of space security, space interests and space development. We must build an outer space force that conforms with the needs of our nation's development (and) the demands of the development of the Space Age," Xu said.
"Only power can protect peace," he added.
Space-based weapons have the potential to enhance a government's strategic position and give it a better handle on land- and sea-based battlefields, Xu argued.
China has backed the idea of a global ban on space-based weapons (see GSN, Aug. 12). The nation demonstrated an incipient antisatellite capability, though, when it destroyed a disused Chinese orbiter in early 2007 (see GSN, Jan. 19, 2007; Peter Foster, London Telegraph, Nov. 2).