The Chinese government yesterday strove to distance itself from the call by a top general to pursue spaced-based weapons and defense systems, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Nov. 4).
"I want to point out China has all along upheld the peaceful use of outer space," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu. "We oppose the weaponization of outer space or a space arms race."
Air Force Gen. Xu Qilang was quoted as saying recently that weapons in space were a "historic inevitability" and that Beijing "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."
Ma countered that "China has never and will not participate in an outer space arms race in any form. The position of China on this point remains unchanged" (Agence France-Presse/Google News, Nov. 5).