The US officially confirms it has space weapons orbiting Earth

Circling back, right after the announcement, a spokesperson from the Chinese foreign ministry warned that the US’s efforts were weaponizing space and ‘turning it into a battlefield’. Aside from urging the US to stop preparing for a ‘war in outer space’, they also warned that China would not stand by idly, signaling similar potential weapons from them. As for Russia, the Kremlin emphasized the importance of space remaining weaponless.

Yet, given its military space programs, China and Russia’s stance might sound contradictory. However, it’s worth noting that both nations routinely sponsor UN resolutions calling for the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS). But in knowing just how cutthroat the space race is, calling the US out also gives both Beijing and the Kremlin room to claim the moral high ground in this situation.

Neither country is exactly new to counter-space weapons. In 2007, China used a ground-launched missile to destroy one of its satellites, while Russia conducted a similar test in 2021, both of which ended up producing substantial orbital debris.

The key difference is that these were ground-based weapons used against objects in space, whereas the US’s confirmed space weapon is actively in orbit, making it arguably far more dangerous.

Despite the world having an Outer Space Treaty (OST), what’s frustrating is that it has no say in such weapons. The OST was created in 1967, right after the Cold War to prohibit weapons of mass destruction in space. Unfortunately, this is limited to nuclear weapons and not conventional ones.

But it is worth pointing out that the OST does require nations to avoid contaminating space with thousands of fragments of space debris, which kinetic weapons might violate. Many speculate that the US’s weapons in space might be non-kinetic in nature.

Critics argue having weapons in space still sets dangerous precedents for other countries. Aside from Russia and China, countries such as India, France and Germany are already investing heavily in defensive and counter space technologies. While they have not expressed any idea of deploying in-orbit weapons, the US’s admission could encourage them to explore the idea to do so.

Should space effectively become a battlefield, what is to stop such weapons from targeting civilian infrastructure such as GPS, communications, and power grids, especially when these weapons’ capabilities remain unknown?

Though international law still applies to space, there is no comprehensive treaty banning conventional weapons in orbit. Until then, these pioneering countries are given free rein to shape the race how they see fit.

And unfortunately, due to the abruptness of the US’s announcement, diplomacy will soon shift from preventing such weapons from reaching space to managing a world in which their existence already presides over us.

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