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.
We do not want to move the spas around. The whole idea is 'tranquility', sameness would be perfect.
I hate it when I walk into a building, and come out a different way. I get so disoriented.
I couldn't handel a moving spa.
;-0
handel = handle
Yeah, we kinda did have to go into a massive holding pattern this time.
The most recent zot thread showed up too late.
*sigh*
This thread was chosen due to the title.
(Zounds! Now they're after our Spa!)
Sorry kiddies...I had to go out and show off my new blinking red light to the neighbors! One in particular has been "helping" me by running a bunji cord from his car to mine, so that if mine gets jogged, it will set off his alarm. He said he was still going to do it, just "because."
Rotgut? ROTGUT!?!??? YOU CALL MY FINE WHISKY ROTGUT??????? Why, you rottndog, you!
That does it! Bagpipes at 50 paces, and may the better reed win!
Hi, Darks!
I suspect we will all sit in our spas until the cows come home, just so the Chinese don't try to take them again...
You know, every time I've been there, I've thought about going to South Fork, but there are so many other interesting things to do there.
The Book Depository (JFK), and the Fort Worth Stockyards, including the famous Billy Bob's Bar.
Texas is a hoot!
Our flight in Chicago was canceled, so we got a hotel, and ate the best (get this) grilled meatloaf sandwiches, while watching the Bears beat the Saints!
I forgot that I like football!
How are things way down there in southern Ontario?
Oh goody! Dueling pipes! Anybody got popcorn?
That's good, and nice.
There are some good people around you.
What's for dinner tonight?
(I'm coming over)
I need to go and free up the phoneline. It seems we have a sister MIA in Florida, where the tornadoes hit this morning. She may not call me, but someone will, so I need to be available.
Y'all have a good night!
Amusingly, my first digital camera (Sony Mavica, bought before Sony earned a prominent spot on my Permanent Boycott list) had a "sepia" mode. Never used it though...
I ate. Cheeseburger! BYOB!
Forget the popcorn, I want earplugs.
Yah, it's either the starter or the battery, and I don't have the experience to say which is more likely. OTOH, the rate of progression would seem to implicate the starter.
I assumed you knew enough to be able to eliminate the battery as the cause. It sounds like the starter is "dragging."
Don't wait for it to fail altogether. That could be ... bad.
You want to munch on earplugs?
KEWL! Thanks! I'm off to bed!
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