Pentagon report on the United States, Russia and China

LikeRussia’s attack on Ukraine Parallel to the confrontation between the United States and China in the Asia-Pacific region in Washington keep it open A third battle front, space one. We’re not at Star Wars yet, but according to the DIA’s Space Security Report Security Challenges in Space 2022And Moscow and Beijing “increased by 70% assets capable of eroding Leadership The United States and its allies in space.

Read the report Security challenges in space 2022.

The response from the Chinese Foreign Ministry not long after: Spokesperson Zhao Lijian, reply He told the press during the daily briefing with reporters, that the United States is the mentality of the Cold War, and that Washington is in fact the greatest threat to security in space. “The United States has openly designated space as a combat zone, pushed for the creation of the Space Force and Space Command, and supported many efforts to develop and deploy offensive weapons inOuter SpaceZhao commented.

However, according to Report Della Dia, the Russian and Chinese intent to oppose American security is clear, with mind-boggling numbers: between 2015 and 2018, the two countries’ technological advances for hitting satellite systems grew by 200%. “This new edition of Space Security Challenges Provides an update, an unclassified overview of the current risks to US space capabilities, particularly from China, Russia and, to a lesser extent, North Korea and Iran,” John F Hoth, Zia President.

For Hoth, Russia and China view space as a condition for winning modern wars, and specifically with a view to comparing the Western world. Through space, they seek to position themselves as leaders of the world. For this reason, “Since the beginning of 2019, competition in space operations has increased, in all individual areas: communications, Remote Sensingaviation, scientific and technological offerings,” adds Director Zia.

Kevin RiderThe Defense Intelligence Agency analyst called, in addition to the growth rates of Russian and Chinese space systems capable of hitting American satellites, the launch of the Beijing probe and rover in the farthest part of the moon, as well as an orbital lander and a rover. On a mission to Mars. In addition, China has tested many missiles Able to thaw satellites and tried other systems, such as i Satellite jammingCapable of blocking satellite and GPS communications.

Russia and China’s intentions

But what is the real goal of China and Russia? “The two countries seek to expand their space initiatives, collaboratively and independently, with plans to explore both the Moon and Mars over the next 30 years,” Rider added. “If they are able, these efforts will prompt Beijing and Moscow to seize natural resources” on the moon.

However, the first to open up about the exploitation of lunar resources, come on Mars And on other celestial bodies, US President Donald Trump, in 2020, signed an executive order encouraging private companies to explore space to seize existing natural assets. According to the then Republican administration, “Americans should have the right to conduct commercial exploration and to recover and use resources in space.” Also because outer space is, in the Trumpian view, “a legal and physical domain of human activity that the United States does not consider a public good.”

Roscosmosthe Russian Space Agency, that the American decision harms International cooperation and “contradicts the concept of space that belongs to humanity.” The United States, for Roscosmos, was defined as “an attempt to expropriate and an aggressive plan to seize territories on other planets.” The Kremlin also intervened in the issue: “Any form of space privatization will be considered unacceptable,” said spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

From there, the Russian option was to give up International Space Station: Formally due to project obsolescence, but more pragmatically, due to geopolitical issues, with confrontational rhetoric now not only back in vogue but also materialized with the war in Ukraine.

Let us recall the protocol signed by Russia and China to build a space research center on the Moon. In March 2021, the China National Space Administration and Roscosmos a . signed Memorandum of Understanding To facilitate cooperation between the two countries in the field of space, with the aim of achieving the implementation of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).