Beijing insisted on Friday it was opposed to an arms race in space after Japan and Britain joined a chorus of concern over a satellite-killing missile test by China -- the first known experiment of its type in more than 20 years. The United States says China used a ground-based ballistic missile to shoot apart an ageing weather satellite on Jan. 11, scattering dangerous debris that could damage other satellites and raising risks of escalating military rivalry in outer space. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman refused to confirm or deny the incident, but said Beijing wanted no arms race in space. "I can't say anything about the reports. I really don't know; I've only seen the foreign reports," Liu Jianchao told Reuters. "What I can say is that, as a matter of principle, China advocates the peaceful use of space and opposes the weaponisation of space, and also opposes any form of arms race," he said. U.S. concerns were quickly echoed by Australia and Canada, and then on Friday by Japan, which has become increasingly concerned about its giant neighbour's rising military strength. "We are concerned about it firstly from the point of view of peaceful use of space and secondly from the safety perspective," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki told a news conference. Britain added its voice to the alarm over China's reported move, with Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesman telling reporters "we have concerns about the impact of debris in space and we've expressed that concern".
