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The Chinese government has expressed concerns over US President Donald Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system, claiming it could lead to the militarization of space. They are calling on him to abandon the initiative.
This week, Trump, alongside US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, revealed plans for a $175 billion anti-missile defense shield designed to protect the US from potential attacks.
The announcement took place in the Oval Office of the White House, where both officials spoke next to a poster illustrating the continental US in gold, featuring artistic representations of missile defenses.
Trump said the defence system would be capable of of intercepting missiles “even if they are launched from space”.
But spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Mao Ning told a media briefing yesterday the plan risked triggering an arms race in space and would violate established treaties.
“It plans to expand the US arsenal of means for combat operations in outer space, including R&D and deployment of orbital interception systems. That gives the project a strong offensive nature and violates the principle of peaceful use in the Outer Space Treaty.
“The project will heighten the risk of turning the space into a war zone and creating a space arms race, and shake the international security and arms control system.”
She said China was “gravely concerned” by the US plan and urged Trump to abandon it.
The Pentagon has warned for years that the newest missiles developed by China and Russia are so advanced that updated countermeasures are necessary.
“Golden Dome’s” added satellites and interceptors, where the bulk of the program’s cost is, would be focused on stopping those advanced missiles early on or in the middle of their flight.
China and Russia have put offensive weapons in space, such as satellites with the ability to disable critical American satellites, which can make the US vulnerable to attack.
Last year, the US said Russia was developing a space-based nuclear weapon that could loiter in space for long durations, then release a burst that would take out satellites around it.
Trump said on Tuesday that he had not yet spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the “Golden Dome” program, “but at the right time, we will”.
– With Associated Press
