www.comefromchina.com
1) BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6276543.stm
US condemns China 'space weapon'
The United States, Australia and Canada have criticised China over a weapons test it is said to have carried out in space last week.
The Americans say the Chinese sent up a ballistic missile to destroy an ageing weather satellite.
They say the test went against the spirit of co-operation both countries aspire to in the area of civil space.
Reports say Britain, South Korea and Japan were expected to express their concerns to China soon.
US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe confirmed a report in the magazine, American Aviation Week and Space Technology.
The report cited space sources as saying a Chinese Feng Yun 1C polar orbit weather satellite, launched in 1999, was destroyed by an anti-satellite system launched from or near China's Xichang Space Centre in Sichuan Province on 11 January.
The impact occurred at more than 537 miles (865km) above Earth.
"The US believes China's development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of co-operation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area," Mr Johndroe said.
"We and other countries have expressed our concern regarding this action to the Chinese."
US space strategy
Last October, the US adopted a tough new policy aimed at protecting its interests in space.
The 10-page strategic document states that the US national security "is critically dependent upon space capabilities, and this dependence will grow".
"The United States will preserve its rights, capabilities, and freedom of action in space... and deny, if necessary, adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to US national interests," it says.
The document rejects any proposals to ban space weapons.
The White House said at the time that the policy did not call for the development or deployment of weapons in space.
But its strategic paper addressed concerns - voiced in a 2001 Pentagon report that said technological advances would enable potential enemies to disrupt orbiting US satellites.
During the Cold War, US President Ronald Reagan proposed a defence shield using laser or particle beam technology to "intercept and destroy" incoming nuclear missiles.
The Strategic Defence Initiative, or "Star Wars" programme as it came to be known, was abandoned in 1993.
2) CNN HEADLINE
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/spa...ile/index.html
Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Popular
U.S. official: Chinese test missile obliterates satellite
POSTED: 0325 GMT (1125 HKT), January 18, 2007
Story Highlights• Chinese use a missile to ram and destroy an old, orbiting satellite
• Experts: China now may have ability to knock out U.S. GPS and spy satellites
• Washington issues formal diplomatic protest
Adjust font size:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- China last week successfully used a missile to destroy an orbiting satellite, U.S. government officials told CNN on Thursday, in a test that could undermine relations with the West and pose a threat to satellites important to the U.S. military.
According to a spokesman for the National Security Council, the ground-based, medium-range ballistic missile knocked an old Chinese weather satellite from its orbit about 537 miles above Earth. The missile carried a "kill vehicle" and destroyed the satellite by ramming it.
The test took place on January 11. (Watch why the U.S. has protested the missile strike )
Aviation Week and Space Technology first reported the test: "Details emerging from space sources indicate that the Chinese Feng Yun 1C (FY-1C) polar orbit weather satellite launched in 1999 was attacked by an asat (anti-satellite) system launched from or near the Xichang Space Center."
A U.S. official, who would not agree to be identified, said the event was the first successful test of the missile after three failures.
The official said that U.S. "space tracking sensors" confirmed that the satellite is no longer in orbit and that the collision produced "hundreds of pieces of debris," that also are being tracked.
The United States logged a formal diplomatic protest.
"We are aware of it and we are concerned, and we made it known," said White House spokesman Tony Snow.
Several U.S. allies, including Canada and Australia, also have registered protests.
Under a space policy authorized by President Bush in August, the United States asserts a right to "freedom of action in space" and says it will "deter others from either impeding those rights or developing capabilities intended to do so."
The policy includes the right to "deny, if necessary, adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to U.S. national interests."
Low Earth-orbit satellites have become indispensable for U.S. military communications, GPS navigation for smart bombs and troops, and for real-time surveillance. The Chinese test highlights the satellites' vulnerability.
"If we, for instance, got into a conflict over Taiwan, one of the first things they'd probably do would be to shoot down all of our lower Earth-orbit spy satellites, putting out our eyes," said John Pike of globalsecurity.org, a Web site that compiles information on worldwide security issues.
"The thing that is surprising and disturbing is that [the Chinese] have chosen this moment to demonstrate a military capability that can only be aimed at the United States," he said.
3) CBC
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/0...sile-test.html
Canada voices concern over Chinese missile test
Last Updated: Thursday, January 18, 2007 | 1:56 PM ET
CBC News
Canada, Australia and the United States told China on Thursday that they are upset that it conducted an anti-satellite weapons test involving a ballistic missile last week.
"The United States believes China's development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of co-operation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area," U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
"We and other countries have expressed our concern to the Chinese."
The test destroyed an old Chinese weather satellite. U.S. intelligence agencies said they think China carried out the test on January 11.