China has issued a warning to the United States about its Golden Dome missile defence shield, urging President Donald Trump to pull the plug on the project.
A foreign ministry spokesperson for the Asian superpower warned the megastructure, designed to block potential missiles from China or Russia, had “strong offensive implications” on Wednesday (May 21).
Donald Trump confirmed the day prior that he had selected a design for the $175-billion project and that the ambitious program would be overseen by a Space Force general.
The system is partly inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome, which the US helped develop and has been deployed to intercept rockets and missiles since 2011.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, cautioned that the Golden Dome only heightened risks of militarising outer space through a renewed arms race.
“The United States, in pursuing a ‘U.S.-first’ policy, is obsessed with seeking absolute security for itself,” Ning told a press conference.
“This violates the principle that the security of all countries should not be compromised and undermines global strategic balance and stability. China is seriously concerned about this.”
The Chinese delegate urged Washington to abandon the development of the system as soon as possible and take actions to build trust among major powers.
The defence system was unveiled by Trump shortly after he reassumed office in January, to counter “next-generation” aerial threats to the US, including ballistic and cruise missiles.
The President asserted the dome would be “capable even of intercepting missiles launched from the other side of the world, or launched from space.”
An eye-watering initial sum of $25bn (£18.7bn) has been committed in a new budget bill, but the Trump administration has suggested it could end up costing 20 times that amount over decades.
The proposal also raised doubts about whether the project was deliverable, given the huge land mass it would have to operate across and given continuing advancements in military technology from China.
A briefing paper released by the Defense Intelligence Agency cast further doubt over its effectiveness, stating that missile threats “will expand in scale and sophistication”, with China and Russia actively designing systems “to exploit gaps” in US defences.
Economist defence editor, Shashank Joshi, explained that the Golden Dome would likely function by using thousands of satellites to spot and track missiles and then use interceptors in Earth’s orbit to blast the missiles on take-off.
Joshi added that the US military would take the plan very seriously, but completion during Trump’s term would be unrealistic.
Trump claimed on Tuesday (May 20) that Canada had asked to be a part of the system.
