Communist China and the Russian Federation have agreed to build a joint station on the moon. According to the bilateral agreement publicized on Wednesday, they want to create a “complex” of facilities on the moon’s surface and its orbit.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of Chinese efforts to weaponize space. Five years ago, China’s People’s Liberation Army created the Strategic Support Force, a wing dedicated to space and cyber warfare. Beijing has since developed a range of missiles capable of destroying low and high-orbit satellites. The Communist regime has also expanded its global spying capabilities with more than 120 surveillance and military satellites currently circling the globe.
The UK TV channel Sky News reported the details of the Sino-Russian space pact:
China and Russia have announced their intention to build a new lunar research station together, launching a new era of collaboration in space between the two countries.
According to a statement published on the China National Space Administration (CNSA) website, the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) would also be open to use by other countries. (…)
The research station could be built either on the lunar surface or in lunar orbit to conduct “scientific research activities such as the lunar exploration and utilisation, lunar-based observation, basic scientific experiment and technical verification,” the statement said. (…)
A memorandum of understanding on the project has been signed by Zhang Kejian, CNSA’s administrator, and Dmitry Rogozin, the chief of Russian space agency Roscosmos.
The Chinese space program is primarily geared towards military use. According to the U.S. publication Defense News [June 2020], “Beijing’s doctrine considers space a military domain, and it is investing heavily in space infrastructure designed to secure both economic and military advantages.
A 2020 Pentagon report disclosed that China is developing weapons and technologies capable of destroying satellites and navigation systems, a strategy that can “blind and deafen the enemy.”
Given China’s active space weapons program, the outgoing Trump administration warned about the regime weaponizing its lunar program. In March 2019, former Vice-President Mike Pence cautioned against Beijing’s “ambition to seize the lunar strategic high ground.”
In 2017, the Trump administration initiated the Artemis program for moon exploration. The plan envisioned a multi-national lunar base and the first human-crewed mission to the moon by 2024, the first time in 49 years. It remains to be seen if the Biden administration will pursue the project with the same urgency.
The Sino-Russian space agreement comes as Beijing is boosting its military budget to challenge the United States on the global stage.
“I worry they’re accelerating their ambitions to supplant the United States and our leadership role in the rules-based international order,” Adm. Philip Davidson, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said this week. “You’re going to find a very global, expeditionary Chinese military that will be there to step in anywhere they think China’s interests are jeopardized,” he added.
With President Joe Biden in the White House, Communist China has unveiled an ambitious plan to surpass the U.S. economically and militarily.
“China is expected to increase its defense spending by 6.8% in the coming fiscal year,” The Voice of America reported Tuesday. “Some projections even envision the Chinese navy being able to outgun the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific, from a 3-1 advantage in aircraft carriers up to a 54 to six advantage in modern, multimission combat ships, by 2025,” the broadcaster explained.
‘Trump signs space policy directive to send Americans to Moon, Mars’ December 2017
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