Senator urges robust U.S. stance on China space moves

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's test of an anti-satellite weapon this month was a "wake-up call" that should make the United States get serious about threats in space, a Republican senator said on Monday.

Jon Kyl of Arizona said China's destruction of an aging Chinese weather satellite with a ground-based ballistic missile underscored the vulnerability of U.S. security and communications assets in space.

"Chinese military doctrine and numerous writings make it clear China does not believe space can or should be free of military capabilities," said Kyl.

On January 11, China used a ground-based ballistic missile to knock out an aging Chinese weather satellite about 537 miles

above Earth, scattering dangerous debris that could damage other satellites for years.

China confirmed the blast 12 days later but denied it was seeking an arms race in space.

Kyl told the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank that China posed a multifaceted space threat with broad capabilities. Russia, Iran, North Korea and other states with missile capabilities also could destroy satellites, he said.

"We need to get serious about space security," said Kyl, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security.

He hailed as a "step in the right direction" an October 2006 report issued following the Bush administration's revision of U.S. space policy, the first in nearly 10 years.

That policy rejected a push by China, Russia and others for new arms-control pacts to keep space free of offensive weapons. It outlined a stepped-up drive to guard space assets in light of growing U.S. reliance on them amid reported growing threats.

"Next year's defense bill should include the changes necessary to ensure that the DOD (Department of Defense) and particularly the Air Force, are organized and equipped to meet the threat," said Kyl.

The U.S. Congress should hold hearings to determine whether China was using U.S. technology to make advances in space warfare and to evaluate any need for tougher export controls, he said.