The eagle eyes the dragon in space—A critique

China's space policy and its purpose have become an increasingly contentious subject. This paper critically examines the claims, made by Ashley Tellis, among others, that China has a space strategy decided and coordinated by the Chinese military and dedicated to defeating superior US power loca...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Space policy 2013-05, Vol.29 (2), p.113-120
Main Author: Zhang, Yongjin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asymmetry
China
China (People's Republic)
Communities
Dangerous
Eyes
History
Investigation
Military
Policies
Science
Scientists
Space law
Space research and technology
Strategy
Technology
United States
War
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Summary:China's space policy and its purpose have become an increasingly contentious subject. This paper critically examines the claims, made by Ashley Tellis, among others, that China has a space strategy decided and coordinated by the Chinese military and dedicated to defeating superior US power locally in an asymmetrical war, and that it is this military space strategy that drives China's single-minded pursuit of space science and technology and the development of China's space programme. To do so, the paper conducts two investigations: into the declining role of the Chinese military in China's foreign and security policy making and its limited influence in formulating China's grand strategy; and the other into the contingent history of China's two space programs, Shenzhou and Chang'e, which have largely been driven by civilian scientist communities, rather than the military. In so doing, I argue that the claims of China's ‘military space strategy’ are over-imaginative and serve a particular political purpose. The social imaginary of a threatening China produced by the US strategic gaze at China in space, I further argue, has dangerous policy implications.
ISSN:0265-9646
1879-338X
DOI:10.1016/j.spacepol.2013.03.002