Space race a security threat to China, warns PLA think tank report

China faced security threats from other nation's advances in space technology, an annual report by a PLA think tank warned yesterday.

Some countries had developed all-weather, near real-time, multispectral and high-precision cameras to collect data on China's military, political, economic and technological abilities, said the review by the Centre for National Defence Policy, a part of the PLA's Academy of Military Sciences.

"A few countries have speeded up development of spacebased offensive weapons, setting up space combat forces, issuing space war doctrines as well as organising space offensive and defensive drills," the report said, according to China News Service.

It said the report also claimed that space superpowers had actively developed space-to-land, space-to-sea and space-to-air attack capabilities using ballistic missiles, near-space aircraft, spacecraft and atmospheric vehicles as well as other new space weapons.

These "have caused critical threats to China's space security", the report said.

It did not name which nations had challenged China, but military experts say it hinted at the United States.