THE global “war zone” is rapidly expanding, now threatening to extend into space as a new arena for military confrontation.
The escalating arms race is no longer confined to the skies; it is reviving ambitions reminiscent of the “Star Wars” era, with grave socio-economic, geopolitical, and geostrategic consequences for human security, the environment, and peaceful coexistence.
Amid this tension, the US government is moving forward with plans to deploy a new missile defense system known as the “Golden Dome.
” Moreover, the US Golden Dome (UGD) could be seen by the current administration as a way to help “reassure” allies against the so-called threats posed by potential adversaries such as Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, while also mitigating the need for a massive deployment of US troops on the ground.
Obviously, the Trump Administration’s desire to reduce the US military footprint worldwide and focus on strategic competition with China, missile defence could be a convenient way to maintain global influence while lowering overseas troop commitments.
According to the White House’s “Golden Dome” initiative, a missile-defence system intended to intercept long-range and hypersonic missiles fired at the United States.
Most recently, US President Donald Trump announced an initial US$25 billion investment out of a total US$175 billion to start building Golden Dome with the aim of completing it within his term.
However, industry experts are also doubtful of that timeframe and the cost.
He named a Space Force general to head the program.
Additionally, the US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth further laid out that Golden Dome will be a layered system, will draw from existing and future technologies as it is phased in over time, and will have an open architecture, allowing multiple companies to contribute to it.
On the other hand, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson rightly termed the US’ “golden Dome” missile defense system as “risky” turning space into a war zone and creating a “space arms” race.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning upheld that UGD would create an unconstrained, global, multi-layer and multi-domain missile defense system expanding the US arsenal of means for combat operations in outer space, including R&D and deployment of orbital interception systems.
The Chinese spokesperson Mao rightly “dubbed” the UGD as having an “offensive nature,” violating the principle of peaceful use established in the “Outer Space Treaty.
” According to Reuters, the UGD aims to create a network of satellites—perhaps numbering in the hundreds—to detect, track, and potentially intercept incoming missiles.
Interestingly, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also viewed the UGD as another “America First” initiative that places US security above all else, violating the principle of undiminished security for all and threatening global strategic balance and stability.
Consequently, China is seriously concerned and urges the US to abandon the development and deployment of a global anti-missile system, while taking concrete steps to enhance strategic trust among major countries and uphold global strategic stability.
Frankly speaking, the UGD represents a serious violation of the international consensus to keep space free from military conflict and could inevitably trigger a new arms race in outer space.
China and Russia have already showed their serious concerns about the development of UGD in early this month releasing a joint statement on global strategic stability, which said that the recently announced “Golden Dome” plan of the US openly proposed a significant increase in outer space combat means, including the development and deployment of orbital interception systems, weaponizing outer space and turning it into a large-scale armed confrontation site, which made the situation even worse.
The plan aims to build a global, multi-level and multi-domain missile defense system that is not subject to any constraints to resist various missile threats.
It seems that the UGD is a “calculated” measure of the US to establish new global military superiority through a dual-offensive-and-defensive space-based system.
Unfortunately, it will be a flagrant violation of the international consensus on keeping space free of weapons and military conflict, and could inevitably trigger a new arms race in outer space.
According to many regional security experts the US is fuelling the militarization of space and instigating an arms race is abundantly clear.
So, Washington’s actions represent a dangerous escalation aimed at entrenching its military hegemony.
It is a good omen that China and Russia oppose the attempts of individual countries to use outer space for armed confrontation, and reject the implementation of security policies and activities aimed at gaining military superiority and defining outer space and using it as a war-fighting domain.
Time and again the Chinese side requests the US side to abandon its Cold-War mentality, stop playing up the so-called threats of other countries, and stop provoking military confrontation clearly indicating its firm belief in constructive competition and international cooperation for peaceful co-existence, multiculturalism and global justice, equality and equitable global governance.
In summary, the writer considers the US golden dome missile defense system as the “strategic extension” of President Ronald Reagan’s ‘Star Wars’ program having serious ramifications for “global security”, “human safety” and “services sector”.
It seems to be a well devised program which will be a new tool for international “bargaining” against the US opponents mainly China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.
Thus it would be a “new normal” of the US pushing the world towards the new zone of “abnormality” and destruction “draining” precious funds of social development and humanity in the world.
Definitely, the pursuit of space dominance as a strategic high ground exposes America’s true motives.
It is high time that China, Russia and Pakistan should jointly work for peaceful science & space cooperation for their safety, security, sovereignty and national pride.
The writer fears that the deployment of the UGD will ultimately encourage the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by undermining the reliability of existing airborne threats and increasing the cost-effectiveness challenges for potential attackers.
—The writer is President, Pak-China Corridor of Knowledge, Executive Director, CSAIS, regional expert: China, CPEC & BRI. (mehmoodulhassankhan@yahoo.com)
