China insisted it did not want an arms race in space but refrained from commenting on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's claims that its satellite-destroying test had broken international law.
BEIJING: China insisted on Thursday it did not want an arms race in space but refrained from commenting on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's claims that its satellite-destroying test had broken international law.
China's foreign ministry refused to react directly to Abe's comments that Beijing had violated an international space treaty when it shot down one of its own satellites with a missile on January 11.
"We have already stated our position," spokeswoman Jiang Yu said when asked about Abe's comments.
"Since so many other countries are concerned about the peaceful uses of outer space and oppose the weaponisation of space and an arms race in space, we call on them to make common efforts with us to realise this goal."
Abe told the Japanese parliament on Wednesday that he believed China's test was not "in compliance with basic international rules such as the Outer Space Treaty".
The 1967 UN treaty, which bans weapons of mass destruction in space, says that all nations should avoid contamination of space and be held liable for any damage caused.
The United States has voiced concern that debris from the Chinese test could damage satellites or the manned International Space Station.
Jiang said she was not aware of the specific information concerning space debris but insisted that China would be a force for 'peace and stability'.
"China has not and will not participate in an arms race with other countries and will not threaten any other country," Jiang said.
After destroying the satellite, China said it had the right to carry out the test.
The United States and the then Soviet Union are the only other nations to have carried similar tests.
They stopped the practice in 1985, in part over concerns about the debris left in space.
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