China warns satellites from Elon Musk’s Starlink are ‘safety and security’ risk
Beijing tells UN meeting of near misses involving SpaceX satellites and warns they are being used by criminals and terrorists
Addressing an informal United Nations Security Council event initiated by Russia on Monday, Beijing’s representative cited several incidents, including near collisions between Starlink satellites and the Chinese space station in 2021, and a satellite that disintegrated in December.
The comments were made shortly after a senior Starlink executive said there had been a near miss between one of the firm’s satellites and a newly launched Chinese satellite, accusing the Chinese side of not coordinating with other satellites.
“In recent years, humanity has made new progress in the exploration and use of outer space,” the representative said, according to a statement by Beijing’s UN mission that did not name the diplomat involved.
“At the same time, it must also be noted that, with the rapid expansion of commercial space activities, the unchecked proliferation of commercial satellite constellations by a certain country, in the absence of effective regulation, has given rise to pronounced safety and security challenges.”