On Wednesday, Congressman Mike Rogers (R-AL03) released a statement following reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for greater cooperation between Russia and China on the development and deployment of military space weapons.
“Our adversaries are working to rapidly weaponize space,” said Rep. Rogers. “The possibility of Russia and China joining forces against us in space is only the latest example of why we must continue our efforts to strengthen and expand our space capabilities. We must ensure freedom of action in space and counter efforts by those like China and Russia who seek to attack our forces in and through space.”
Mike Rogers is the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
On Wednesday, Putin met with Chinese General Zhang Youxia, China’s second-ranking military official and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission.
In his televised remarks, Putin emphasized the importance of developing closer military links, noting that cooperation in high-tech spheres now takes priority.
“I mean space, including high-orbit assets, and new prospective types of weapons that will ensure strategic security of both Russia and the People’s Republic of China,” Putin said without elaboration. Putin emphasized that while “Russia and China aren’t building any military alliances based on Cold War patterns,” their cooperation is a “serious factor in stabilizing the international situation.”
Space weapons have the potential to greatly impact the next major war. Communications, weather forecasting, navigation, global surveillance, early warning systems, and even weapons guidance all rely on a sophisticated network of satellites. An adversary who was capable of killing their opponent’s satellite network would quickly make their enemy blind and with limited command and control of their forces – particularly those forces on other continents. It could prove to be a decisive advantage in a major conflict. China has already tested an antisatellite weapon, and all major powers are rushing to gain mastery of the space battlefield.
A bipartisan commission on the strategic posture of the United States recently prepared a report warning that the U.S. must be prepared to deter a future nuclear war against both China and Russia at the same time.
“For the first time in history, the United States must deter two near-peer nuclear adversaries at the same time,” Rogers said in a statement on Thursday. “The goal of the Strategic Posture Commission was to examine the long-term strategic posture of the United States. The results of their report detailed the gravity of the situation we face and emphasized that the current trajectory of the U.S. nuclear deterrent is insufficient to deter the looming Chinese and Russian threat. I want to thank the commission for producing a clear-eyed, sobering consensus report. The details of this report should serve as a wakeup call for our strategic posture – we need to rapidly make changes now if we want to deter tomorrow.”
Rogers is in his 11th term representing Alabama’s Third Congressional District and has qualified with the Alabama Republican Party to run for a twelfth term.
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