US General Warns of a

General Stephen Whiting, Commander of the US Space Command, issued a stern warning to US space assets during his testimony to the Senate Military Committee.

A report by Space News shows that Whiting claims that the United States will face a "fragile window" in the coming years, during which it may face potential aggression from other world powers in space.



This is the latest example of military escalation in the space field, which violates the principles stipulated in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (the fundamental document of international space law).



The United States aims to maintain its strategic advantage



At the hearing on February 29th, Whiting claimed that China and Russia are the two biggest threats to the US space architecture. This is because both countries are developing anti satellite weapons.



Since the outbreak of the Russian war in Ukraine, the use of satellites has been attracting public attention, because SpaceX's Starlink Internet satellite service enables Ukrainian troops and civilians to maintain contact on the ground.



Huaiting told the Senate Military Committee, "The actions of China and Russia have turned space into a controversial field of warfare." He added that as of January 2023, China has deployed 359 intelligence satellites in orbit. This means that its in orbit presence has more than doubled since 2018.



Whiting continued, stating that the country has greatly improved its ability to monitor, track, and target the United States and its allied forces on the ground and in orbit. "Russia continues to develop, test, and demonstrate its anti space capabilities, although its invasion of Ukraine did not achieve its war objectives."



The continuous militarization of space



Although Whiting explained that the ongoing war in Ukraine "makes space an indelible driving force behind land warfare," he emphasized that the long-term priority should be to maintain a lead over China.



To American lawmakers, the People's Republic of China is advancing at an astonishing speed in space. "The United States must quickly improve the timeliness, quality, and quantity of our critical national space and missile defense systems to catch up with China's speed and maintain our advantage."



Whiting added, "Our military has optimized for a benign space environment today," which may lead to the loss of the United States' advantage in the space field.



In recent years, the politics of global division have spread to outer space, with the world's largest space power blaming the military escalation of traditional no military zones.



This means that these countries will abandon decades of efforts to maintain space as a demilitarized field, and it can be said that they are all using each other to make excuses for the escalation of the situation.



The 1987 Outer Space Treaty stipulated that "States shall not claim outer space (including the moon) for themselves by claiming sovereignty, using or occupying it, or in any other way."



Although the United States is a signatory to the Outer Space Treaty, Whiting's "Fragile Window" proposition will be used to stimulate investment in modern electronic warfare systems and other military space technologies.