China, Russia Push Back as US Confirms Weapons in Orbit

China and Russia have called for outer space to be kept free of weapons after the United States confirmed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in orbit, a disclosure that has sharpened concerns about a widening military contest beyond Earth.

China's Foreign Ministry urged Washington to halt the expansion of its space military capabilities. Spokesman Guo Jiakun told a briefing that Beijing opposes the weaponisation of outer space, its conversion into a battlefield, and an arms race there. "We urge the US side to stop expanding its military capabilities and preparing for war in outer space," he said.

The Kremlin struck a similar note. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow hoped for broad international support in pursuing the complete demilitarisation of space.

The statements followed confirmation by the US Space Force that Washington possesses "on-orbit space control weapons" intended to defend American forces against hostile actions by adversaries. The service did not disclose how many such weapons exist or what type they are, saying only that its space-control capabilities include kinetic and non-kinetic means of disrupting, degrading or destroying an adversary's space systems.

The Space Force has identified China and Russia as its principal potential threats in orbit. It says Beijing is building space and counterspace capabilities as part of a broader military modernisation, while Moscow treats space as a warfighting domain.

Military rivalry in space is not new. It stretches back to the Cold War and the 1957 launch of the Soviet Union's Sputnik, after which both superpowers developed ways to protect their own satellites and threaten those of their rivals. Satellites have since become central to military communications, surveillance, intelligence gathering and navigation.

Analysts described the US acknowledgement as the confirmation of a longstanding open secret, one that could further strain ties between Washington and Beijing and feed fears of an accelerating arms race. Song Zhongping, a Hong Kong-based military commentator and former Chinese army instructor, said the disclosure came as no surprise, since US possession of such weapons was already widely known. The significant shift, he said, was that Washington had moved from ambiguity to openly acknowledging its capabilities.

Song warned that China would not stand idle if the US pressed ahead with further deployments in space, and said any decision by Beijing to place its own weapons in orbit would depend on Washington's future moves. He noted that China already operates its own space station.

The episode has also laid bare gaps in international law. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits placing nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in orbit, but does not ban all conventional weapons or technologies capable of attacking satellites. Space law expert Laetitia Cesari said existing rules leave many modern military capabilities in space largely unregulated.

The issue may surface at a United Nations disarmament meeting in November. Moscow and Beijing have pushed for a treaty restricting the placement of weapons in space, while Western countries have favoured rules governing responsible behaviour.