U.S. Wants to Set Up a Hotline With China for Space Emergencies
Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman delivers a keynote address at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference on September 12, 2023.
As part of its efforts to watch over America’s assets in space, the United States Space Force is looking into establishing a line of communication with China in case of an emergency in orbit. It’s not clear, however, whether or not China will pick up the line.
In an interview with Reuters on Monday, U.S. commander General Chance Saltzman revealed that the youngest military branch has had internal discussions on establishing a hotline with China. “What we have talked about on the U.S. side at least is opening up a line of communication to make sure that if there is a crisis, we know who we can contact,” Saltzman told Reuters.
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The U.S. is also concerned that China is developing weapons that would take down American satellites. Earlier this year, the Department of Defense adopted a set of rules for responsible space operations, including open communication about U.S. military space activities. At the time, Lieutenant General DeAnna Burt, the deputy chief of the U.S. Space Force for operations, cyber and nuclear, said that China’s lack of transparency regarding its space activities poses a risk, SpaceNews reported.
Burt complained that, when warnings of close approaches or potential collisions are sent out by U.S. Space Command crews, China leaves them on read. “We get no response, no thank you, no have a nice day. Nothing,” Burt is quoted in SpaceNews as saying.
China also boasted about rejecting a call from the U.S. Defense Department in February after the suspected Chinese spy balloon was taken down because the U.S. had “not created the proper atmosphere” for dialogue and exchange, AP reported at the time.
The U.S. seems desperate to get China to open up about its activities in space, while China is giving the silent treatment. A space hotline could be one last attempt to open up communication lines, but China may be too far into its ways to pick up the line.
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