"We have not heard back from them. We do want cooperation on a civil space strategy. So until we hear back from them or have more information, I don't have any more to add," she told reporters.

The United States and its Asian allies have voiced concern after US spy agencies said China fired a missile to destroy an orbiting weather satellite last week, making it the third country after the United States and the former Soviet Union to shoot down anything in space.

If confirmed, the test might mean China could shoot down spy satellites operated by other nations.

The aging weather satellite was hit on January 11 US time and may have left considerable debris behind, a US official said.

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

earlier related report
China plays down fears after satellite shot down
Beijing (AFP) Jan 20 - China Friday played down fears of a military space race after US spy agencies said it had shot down a satellite for the first time, drawing condemnation from Washington and its Asian allies.

"There's no need to feel threatened about this," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told journalists, while declining to confirm the incident.

"We are not going to get into any arms race in space," he said.

Washington said China fired a missile to destroy an orbiting weather satellite last week, making it the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to shoot down an object in space.

If confirmed, the test would mean China could now theoretically shoot down spy satellites operated by other nations.

On Friday Washington voiced concern the test may also have scattered debris in space that could endanger the manned International Space Station or orbiting satellites.

"I think you've certainly seen, given the history of some of the events of manned space flights, that small things can cause very big problems," US State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.

US magazine Aviation Week and Space Technology, which first reported the test, said the missile was fired from the Xichang space center in central Sichuan province on January 11 and had destroyed a Chinese weather satellite launched in 1999.

The impact reportedly occurred more than 500 miles (800 kilometres) above Earth, high enough to hit orbiting satellites.

As well as the issue of orbiting debris, Washington was particularly concerned the test could signal a possible arms race in space, Casey added.

"We don't want to see a situation where there is any militarisation of space," he said.

Washington for now has virtual supremacy in space, with Russia having lost much of its means and China generally still just starting out.

The Chinese are "behind the United States and behind Russia in their ability to use space for military purposes. But they have a very serious program to build up their capabilities," Theresa Hitchens, the director of the Centre for Defence Information, told AFP in Washington.

But "in 20 years, they are quite likely to be a very powerful space power," she said.

Beijing could be trying to force Washington into negotiations about a weapons ban in space, or it could be planning to hold US satellites at risk.

"It is ominous. It could well be the beginning of a new arms race in space. And that would be very dangerous," Hitchens said.

An arms rivalry in space would look different than the traditional kind of competition, added Michael Krepon, a defence expert at the Henry L. Stimson Centre in the US.

"This will be a very different kind of race, since it does not take big numbers to make a mess of space. But there will be a competition of sorts, with major space powers preparing to use diverse means to negate the use of satellites, if push comes to shove," Krepon said.

Japan, which has long been concerned at China's rapidly growing military spending, joined the US administration in its condemnation of the test.

Foreign Minister Taro Aso said the test was "questionable from the viewpoint of peaceful use (of space) because there could be concerns of scattered debris."

In Taiwan, which China considers a province awaiting reunification, defence ministry spokesman Wu Chi-fang said: "Any weapons developed by China would affect the security in the Taiwan Strait."

South Korea conveyed its concern, while Australia summoned China's ambassador.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesman told reporters that British officials had raised the matter with China voicing concern over the lack of consultation.

"We believe that this development of this technology and the manner in which this test was conducted is inconsistent with the spirit of China's statements to the UN and other bodies on the military use of space," he said.

If confirmed, it would be the first case since the 1980s when the Soviet Union and the United States both destroyed satellites in space. The two superpowers ceased the tests largely because of the problem of debris.

China, which in 2003 became the third country to carry out a manned space mission, can now theoretically shoot down spy satellites operated by Europe, Israel, Japan, Russia and the United States, Aviation Week said.

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