Russia & China Want To Ban Weapons In Space

"Let us not forget that the nuclear arms race was started with a view to preserving a monopoly of this type of weapon," Lavrov said. "But this monopoly was to last only four years." Washington rejects the plan because it feels it is only directed at U.S. military technology and allows China and Russia to fire ground-based missiles into space or use satellites as weapons of war. The U.S. also points to China's launch last year of a ballistic missile that destroyed one of its old weather satellites and created thousands of pieces of space debris. The test was widely criticized as a provocative display of China's growing military capability. The U.S. says it is committed to ensuring the use of space for peaceful purposes, but insists that it will pursue programs to ensure that its satellites and other spacecraft are protected. The Russian and Chinese proposal has been stymied by the United States since it was first introduced as an idea in 2002, two weeks after the United States withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. ... http://www.space.com/news/ap-080212-space-weapons.html

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