MOSCOW, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov Tuesday issued a new warning against the militarization of space, the RIA Novosti news agency said.
Ivanov was speaking following China's announcement that it had carried out its first successful anti-satellite weapons test last month. But he said Beijing was not primarily responsible for the militarization of space, in what appeared to be an indirect criticism of U.S. space policy.
"It is not China that opened up Pandora's box," he said.
Ivanov acknowledged that the Untied States and Russia had both deployed space-based strategic assets. But he said strong distinction should be drawn between space-based systems that were used for defensive purposes and other weapons systems that served aggressive and threatening purposes.
"The use of outer space for security and defense purposes is one thing, and the placement of weapons there is quite another," Ivanov said according to the RIA Novosti report. "The latter is absolutely unacceptable in our view, as it makes the global security situation unpredictable."
"China's January 11 ballistic missile launch, revealed only two weeks later, caused an international uproar and raised concerns about the emerging world power's military ambitions," RIA Novosti said.
