It might not be Star Wars, but it is certainly a combative Space Odyssey. Washington is reacting with increasing alarm at Beijing’s breakneck push to launch satellite constellations. Even the United States’ military nerve center in the Pentagon is deeply concerned.
Last week, it was revealed that China’s payloads surged sixfold in the past decade. They jumped from 99 in 2016 to 595 this year, narrowing the technological gap with the US, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
“China aims to match the US as the world’s leading space power and is catching up fast, especially when it comes to satellites – giving Beijing the potential to impair rival networks and blunt [American] military might,” the WSJ pointed out.
“Among other advances, [it] has made strides in upgrading its GPS-rivaling navigation system and its ‘remote-sensing’ abilities. [This is] the use of satellite technology to capture data from the Earth’s surface, according to analysts,” it said.
Lost in space:
- The Beidou Navigation Satellite System has become the main rival to the American network known as the Global Positioning System, or GPS.
- It offers “critical surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities,” tracking in precise time. China was denied access to GPS in 1996 after firing missiles near Taiwan.
In May, the Pentagon sanctioned multiple Chinese companies.
SEMAFOR
Delve deeper: “[The move prompted] Beijing to develop its own [program] … It has since exported access to other nations along the Digital Silk Road,” Semafor, the geopolitical website, reported last week.
Between the lines: “In May, the Pentagon sanctioned multiple Chinese companies for providing satellite imagery to Iran during Operation Epic Fury,” it said, referring to the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz.
Big picture: Yet, the foundations of China’s satellite expansion were built around large state-owned enterprises. That model has since “splintered” to include an array of private and start-up companies, initially backed by the ruling Communist Party of China.
Bottom line: “US military intelligence suggests that the PLA aims to deter foreign military action [by] developing anti-satellite ground and space weapons,” the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington-based think tank, said in a June white paper.
China Factor comment: While Beijing represents a clear and present danger, Space Race 2.0 is just an extension of a broader technological war. It encompasses the battle for AI, robots, and humanoids, as well as the clash between autocracies and democracies.