BEIJING: China on Tuesday urged the United States to stop expanding its military buildup and weaponisation of outer space after Washington confirmed for the first time that it has deployed operational weapons in Earth’s orbit.
“China has long been committed to the peaceful use of outer space and safeguarding security in space. We oppose any arms race in outer space or any attempts to weaponise it or turn it into a war zone,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.
“We urge the US to stop expanding military buildup in outer space and safeguard global strategic stability with concrete actions,” Guo said.
MFA Spokesperson’s response to U.S. deployment of weapons in space:
China stands for peaceful use of the outer space and keeping it safe, and opposes any arms race in outer space or any attempt to weaponize it and turn it into a warzone. We urge the U.S. to stop its military… pic.twitter.com/KPAhSW4khH
— CHINA MFA Spokesperson 中国外交部发言人 (@MFA_China) September 15, 2026
China’s foreign ministry warned against the “weaponisation of outer space, turning it into a battlefield, as well as an arms race there”.
“We urge the US side to stop expanding its military capabilities and preparing for war in outer space,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson’s remarks came after US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said Monday that the Space Force has operational weapons in orbit capable of responding to threats from adversaries.
“We continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenge of evolving threats wherever they exist,” Meink said at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference.
“This is why the Space Force now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action,” he added.
Meink, whose department oversees both the US Air Force and Space Force, declined to disclose when the weapons became operational, their capabilities, or whether they rely on kinetic impactors, directed energy, electronic warfare or cyber capabilities.
He later told reporters that the public acknowledgement was deliberate and that the terminology had been “very well thought out” to reinforce military deterrence. “Talking about the details of what we’re doing would actually not benefit that deterrence,” Meink said.
“We’re not going to talk about the specifics of what we’re doing, whether we’ve tested, not tested, or anything else. I would just say that the space environment is critical for military and economic security, and we need to make sure that the US can operate freely there.”
“It is critically important that we maintain our dominance, not only in the air but in space,” he added. “So, we’ve had to take steps to make sure that when we’re threatened, we can take care of that.”
The disclosure comes amid growing military competition in space involving the US, China and Russia.
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits placing nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in orbit but does not explicitly ban conventional weapons in space.
