Posted on 01/19/2007 6:05:32 AM PST by Rb ver. 2.0
Britain has joined the US, Japan and Australia's condemnation of China after the communist country destroyed a satellite in space using a ballistic missile.
The British embassy in Beijing said it had raised the test, the first of its kind for 20 years, with the Chinese foreign ministry noting that the Government believed it was “inconsistent” with China’s opposition to the development of space weapons.
A spokesman refused to elaborate on the form the protest took or on the Chinese government’s response.
Later, a Downing Street spokesman said: "We are concerned about the impact of debris in space and we expressed that concern.
"We don't believe that this does contravene international law
"What we are concerned about however is lack of consultation and we believe that this development of this technology and the manner in which this test was conducted is inconsistent with the spirit of China's statements to the UN and other bodies on the military use of space."
The Chinese authorities have not confirmed a US report that it blew up one of its own aged weather satellites last Thursday with a ballistic missile fired from the Xichang space centre in Sichuan province.
There is stony silence on the subject in the Chinese media today as concern grows in the US and in the region about the prospect of an arms race in space.
If the test is confirmed, China will become the third country after the United States and the former Soviet Union to shoot down an object in space, indicating the Asian power could target satellites operated by other nations.
The United States, Japan, Australia and a host of other countries voiced concern on Friday .
Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yasuhisa Shiozaki, said his government had asked China for confirmation, and for an explanation of what its intentions were.
“We are concerned about it firstly from the point of view of peaceful use of space, and secondly from the safety perspective,” Mr Shiozaki said.
Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the American National Security Council, said the US “believes China’s development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of co-operation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area”.
Alexander Downer, Australia's foreign minister, said his country did not want to see “some sort of spread, if you like, of an arms race into outer space”.
Taro Aso, the Japanese foreign minister, said the Chinese had sought to reassure Japan its intentions in space were of no threat to anyone.
“China consistently uses space only for peaceful purposes,” Mr Aso quoted the Chinese foreign ministry as saying.
The comments fit with the ruling Communist Party’s mantra in recent years that the nation’s rise as a world superpower should not be feared.
China joined the exclusive club of top space nations in 2003 when it sent up its first manned mission, joining the United States and Russia.
China spends 500 million dollars a year on its space programmes, according to official figures, while NASA’s proposed budget for 2007 is nearly 17 billion dollars.
But the United States has consistently deflected Chinese advances for closer cooperation on the two nations’ space programmes because of concerns about the involvement of China’s military.
A Chinese government defence paper released last month said that its defence expenditure had grown by more than 15 percent every year since 1990.
I didn't get a castle cake this year.
He's pretty good. I've been giving him a lot of time off of work.
His back hips aren't the best and sitting in the car all day makes him a bit stiff.
Thanks.
Does he have a thing about other critters, since his "encounter"?
That kind of thing changes some dogs.
One of my dogs is 10 years old, and has had bad hind knees since she was young--we try to keep her weight down and we don't walk her or else she also gets real stiff. My brother brought over his Rat Terrier, and of course my dog has to assert her alpha dog status, and spends all day chasing the Rat around--it usually takes a few days for her to recover...
Hey, at least white on white looks clean . . .
Do tell.....
:-)
When I find myself turning the setpoint UP to 66, I know I'm sick. 64 normal, 58 night. And it's not cold at all.
I'm glad you have that one baby picture. :-)
Please post it, and ping me.
I'll scan one of me too!
LOL! What a hoot!
Will do!
Hi Kanawa!
It's obvious your dogs just love swimming!
They look so happy.
:-)
Good night Irish!
:-)
(((Tulip)))
Your car's a Love?
At Love?
ERK!
I'm sorry. I got kicked offline, and just now got back on. I hate the cold!
Something kicked you off line? A rampaging hippo, or a power failure?
REPUBLICANSI had been accustomed to vote for Republicans more frequently than for Democrats, but I was never a Republican and never a Democrat. In the community, I was regarded as a Republican, but I had never so regarded myself. As early as 1865 or '66 I had had this curious experience: that whereas up to that time I had considered myself a Republican, I was converted to a no-party independence by the wisdom of a rabid Republican. This was a man who was afterward a United States Senator, and upon whose character rests no blemish that I know of, except that he was the father of the William R. Hearst of to-day, and therefore grandfather of Yellow Journalism - that calamity of calamities. |
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Well, we try to keep a low profile so we can sneak up on ZOT! threads and er..."appropriate" them. Most of the time, someone sees the number of posts and can't help but add their .02 worth. That's when we tell them that like Alice, they fell down the rabbit hole.
Most of them like it here, and some stay, but some only visit. It's OK...we are like a big family...baby pictures and all!
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