US main driver for turning outer space into weapon, battlefield: MFA

The US is the main driver for turning outer space into a weapon and a battlefield, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing in Beijing when asked about comments by NASA administrator Bill Nelson on the Chinese space program.

“The US has long followed a strategy of maintaining space dominance, aggressively developed and deployed space weapons and frequently conducted military drills in space,” Zhao said.

NASA had “inextricable links” with the US military, he said.

“The US is the main driver for turning outer space into a weapon and a battlefield,” Zhao said. Nelson himself served in the military, he noted.

“The US is very selective about its so-called international cooperation,” Zhao said. “It has even adopted specific legislation to sanction and suppress foreign space agencies without good reason.”

The US needs to “stop turning a blind eye to facts and denigrating China, seriously reflect on its negative statements and actions in the space domain, assume its due responsibility as a major country, and do more things that are good for China-US space and aviation cooperation,” the ministry spokesperson said.