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Space arms race 'an inevitability'
source: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/new...-1225793638201
Top China air force commander has called the militarisation of space an "historical inevitability", state media said today, marking an apparent shift in Beijing's opposition to weaponising outer space. In a wide-ranging interview in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Daily, air force commander Xu Qiliang said it was imperative for the PLA air force to develop offensive and defensive operations in outer space. "As far as the revolution in military affairs is concerned, the competition between military forces is moving towards outer space... this is a historical inevitability and a development that cannot be turned back,'' Commander Xu told the paper. "The PLA air force must establish in a timely manner the concepts of space security, space interests and space development. "We must build an outer space force that conforms with the needs of our nation's development (and) the demands of the development of the space age.'' Superiority in outer space can give a nation control over war zones both on land and at sea, while also offering a strategic advantage, Commander Xu said, noting that such dominance was necessary to safeguard the nation. "Only power can protect peace,'' the 59-year-old commander said in the interview given to coincide with this month's 60th anniversary of the founding of the PLA air force. China has long stated that it supported the peaceful uses of outer space and opposed the introduction of weapons there. Beijing has also sought to establish an international treaty to control the deployment of weapons in space. In January 2007, China surprised the world by shooting down one of its own weather satellites in a test seen by many, including the United States, as a possible trigger of an arms race |
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Space arms race 'an inevitability'
Andrew Nowicki quoted:
source: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/new...-1225793638201 Top China air force commander has called the militarisation of space an "historical inevitability", state media said today, marking an Generals reading history books? No a bad thing overall. apparent shift in Beijing's opposition to weaponising outer space. Having a general say something is not the same as having the civilians in control say something. In a wide-ranging interview in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Daily, air force commander Xu Qiliang said it was imperative for the PLA air force to develop offensive and defensive operations in outer space. "As far as the revolution in military affairs is concerned, the competition between military forces is moving towards outer space... this is a historical inevitability and a development that cannot be turned back,'' Commander Xu told the paper. "The PLA air force must establish in a timely manner the concepts of space security, space interests and space development. "We must build an outer space force that conforms with the needs of our nation's development (and) the demands of the development of the space age.'' Superiority in outer space can give a nation control over war zones both on land and at sea, while also offering a strategic advantage, Commander Xu said, noting that such dominance was necessary to safeguard the nation. "Only power can protect peace,'' the 59-year-old commander said in the interview given to coincide with this month's 60th anniversary of the founding of the PLA air force. He's using the bully pulpit to urge his civilian commanders to change policy. Given what's happened on every frontier in history, eventually he'll be right. China has long stated that it supported the peaceful uses of outer space and opposed the introduction of weapons there. Beijing has also sought to establish an international treaty to control the deployment of weapons in space. In January 2007, China surprised the world by shooting down one of its own weather satellites in a test seen by many, including the United States, as a possible trigger of an arms race As with Antarctica the longer development proceeds without military the better. Of course military presence is inevitable but that does not mean it's not worth delaying as long as possible. Generals aren't supposed to see it that way, and I'm not a general. |
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Space arms race 'an inevitability'
On Nov 4, 7:21*pm, Dan Birchall wrote:
(Andrew Nowicki) wrote: *Top China air force commander has called the militarisation of space *an "historical inevitability", state media said today, marking an *apparent shift in Beijing's opposition to weaponising outer space. *In a wide-ranging interview in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) *Daily, air force commander Xu Qiliang said it was imperative for the *PLA air force to develop offensive and defensive operations in outer *space. Hopefully "Cowboy" Xu's superiors will go easy on him for flagrantly missing the memo: The problem is for every "Cowboy Xu" there are American, Russian, and other country's counterparts that simply think that way. War is inevitable, like "**** happens"; as if there is no possible alternative. This Patton-esque thinking even gets rewarded. Sort of crazy really. *China has long stated that it supported the peaceful uses of outer *space and opposed the introduction of weapons there. Yeah, it acceded to the Outer Space Treaty what, 25 years ago? *Which means no nukes or WMDs in space, and more importantly, you have to pay if your space objects cause any damage to things. We'll see how long that lasts. *Beijing has also sought to establish an international treaty to *control the deployment of weapons in space. I could see the value of broadening the OST to cover *all* weapons... Well I saw recently on the History Channel a whole program discussing weapons in outer space. Sure the Americans will claim that they have to do stuff like that to protect themselves from people like Xu Qiliang. And I'm sure that sort of response makes Xu Qiliang feel he must protect China from possible attack in space as well, so here we are....again. Eric |
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