Satellite blast: US seeks details from China

Washington, Jan 23: US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill raised with Chinese officials in Beijing the destruction of a space satellite with a ballistic missile, a State Department spokesman said.

''He talked to a representative of the Chinese ministry,'' said spokesman Sean McCormack yesterday. ''We would encourage greater transparency as to exactly the specifics of this test, the intent behind it, and then also more largely more transparency about their program.'' He said the officials who met hill acknowledged the test. China slammed a ground-based medium-range ballistic missile into an aging Chinese weather satellite about 865 km above Earth on January 11.

The United States, Britain and Japan, among others, have all voiced alarm about the test, which could boost the risks of escalating military rivalry in space. It was the first known experiment of its type in more than 20 years.

China has insisted it opposed an arms race in space.

US officials have said debris from the explosion could jeopardize spy satellites and commercial imagery satellites in low orbits around Earth, A senior State Department official, Undersecretary of State Robert Joseph, had summoned the Chinese ambassador to Washington last week to seek information about the test.

Reuters

Related Stories