China calls for ban on space weapons; Obama may comply.

Building on a February 2008 proposal by the governments of China and Russia, the communist regime in the People's Republic of China is now pushing for a ban on weapons in space.

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According to an Associated Press story, Yang Jiechi, the Chinese foreign minister, addressed the topic at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. AP quotes Yang as follows, "Outer space is now facing the looming danger of weaponization. Credible and effective multilateral measures must be taken to forestall the weaponization and arms race in outer space."

Given the fact that China and the United States have already successfully tested weapons capable of destroying satellites, the topic of an arms race in outer space is far from hypothetical. Yang's comments will almost certainly be welcome news to the Obama administration, which is on record as supporting such a ban. According to a January 25 Reuters story, the White House website pledged "to restore U.S. leadership on space issues and seek a worldwide ban on weapons that interfere with military and commercial satellites. It also promised to look at threats to U.S. satellites, contingency plans to keep information flowing from them, and what steps are needed to protect spacecraft against attack."

However, unnamed sources within the administration hint that Obama may pursue a course that amounts to little more than unilateral disarmament in space. According to the Reuters story: "A defense official, who also asked not to be named, said the Obama administration ... [made] clear that the focus would shift toward more diplomatic initiatives. Work on classified projects involving an 'active' military response to attacks against U.S. satellites might be halted in favor of more monitoring and passive protection measures, he said."