The Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in the United States, Jeffrey Kruse, stated on Wednesday (July 17) that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intends to replace the United States as the global leader in space and to use space military capabilities to counter the U.S.
Kruse expressed at the annual Aspen Security Forum, “When it comes to national security, China’s (CCP) goal is to replace the United States as the global leader in space and to utilize space in a way that is detrimental to us.”
He pointed out that the CCP has invested heavily in directed energy weapons, electronic warfare capabilities, anti-satellite technology, and in-orbit technologies with military applications.
In recent years, with the rapid development of satellite networks and related technologies, U.S.-China space competition is intensifying.
Kruse stated that the CCP aims to become a “comprehensive space power in both economic and military aspects”, and the U.S. should consider how to defend its interests in space.
He also warned that China and Russia seem increasingly willing to set aside long-standing hostility in order to gain advantage in competition with the United States.
“China and Russia believe that utilizing space for deterrence or coercion is a crucial capability even before a conflict occurs,” Kruse said. “We need to be prepared.”
U.S. officials also criticize that Russia appears to be advancing “reckless” space nuclear capabilities.
Kruse said, “For almost a decade, we have been monitoring Russia’s intentions to develop the capability to deliver nuclear weapons into space.”
“They have made progress, and we believe they are close to achieving their goal,” Kruse said. “If they detonate nuclear weapons in space, it will affect not only military targets but everything within the near-earth orbit line of sight will be immediately impacted.”
Kruse mentioned that many satellites without radiation protection could be destroyed within 90 minutes.
Russia is a signatory to the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which prohibits any country from placing nuclear weapons in space. However, Kruse noted that due to a lack of conventional weapon superiority, Russia is developing such weapons.
Commander of the U.S. Space Command, Stephen Whiting, also stated that Russia’s plans are “extremely reckless” and threaten the “entire modern way of life.”
“This is a totally indiscriminate weapon. It will affect U.S. satellites, Chinese satellites, Russian satellites, European satellites, Indian satellites, Japanese satellites,” he said at the Aspen Security Forum.
“This is not the behavior of a responsible space actor,” he said, expressing hope that Russia will act responsibly and fulfill treaty obligations.
Whiting mentioned that the Space Command must “help the joint forces resist the space military forces of China and Russia.”
Whiting said that China has launched a large number of reconnaissance satellites in the past six years, seemingly to establish a “kill chain” in space to detect, locate, and track targets to counter the U.S. and allied forces in the Indo-Pacific region. The role of the Space Command is to assist the U.S. military in resisting the space-capable forces of China.