The announcement came after the White House said the United States, Australia and Canada expressed concern to China over the weapons test, which knocked out an ageing weather satellite.

The ambassador, Madame Fu Ying, was called in to see senior foreign affairs officials on Tuesday on the instructions of Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who is in New York, the spokeswoman said.

"Australia sought an explanation from the Chinese government about the nature of the incident and China's assessment of the danger posed by the debris created by that incident.

"The government also sought an explanation about the Chinese government's future plans for developing and deploying weapons systems with the capability of destroying space assets," she said.

The ambassador undertook to get further information from Beijing and "we are waiting on the outcome of her inquiries," the spokeswoman said.

In Washington earlier, national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe announced that the US, Australia and Canada had expressed their concern to China.

"The United States believes China's development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area," Johndroe said.

A senior White House official, requesting anonymity, said that Britain, Japan and South Korea were expected to outline concerns to China soon.

The official confirmed a report in Aviation Week magazine that US spy agencies have concluded that China conducted a successful test of a satellite-killing weapon on January 11, knocking out an aging Chinese weather satellite with a "kinetic kill vehicle" launched on board a ballistic missile.

The impact occurred more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) above Earth.

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