Western experts note that a fundamental purpose of the Chinese space program is to bolster the image of China--and the ruling Chinese Communist Party--both at home and abroad. It also aims to spur the development of Chinese science and technology.

Chinese activities in space also have an undeniable military purpose. By their very nature, certain space-related capabilities--launch, earth observation, long-distance communications, precision navigation--can serve both civil and military objectives. In China's case, the overlap is substantial. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) in fact directs major elements of the nation's space program, including manned spaceflight.

As Dean Cheng of the Heritage Foundation has noted, Chinese military writings emphasize the roles space systems can play in supporting air, land and sea operations. These include finding and attacking American forces operating in the Asia-Pacific region. With this end clearly in mind, the PLA is expanding its current constellations of reconnaissance, navigation, meteorological and communications satellites.

Likewise, Chinese strategists understand the growing extent to which the United States and its allies depend upon space-related capabilities in conducting their own military operations. Accordingly, China appears intent on developing capabilities to disrupt an adversary's ability to use space systems, either by attacking satellites directly or by interfering with the ground stations and the communications nodes essential to satellite operations.

For example, in 2007, China conducted a test of a direct-ascent antisatellite interceptor that literally blasted an aging Chinese weather satellite into thousands of metal shards. In the process, it created a cloud of debris that will pose a serious hazard to satellites flying in low-earth orbit for many years to come.

Earlier this year, the Pentagon's annual report to Congress on China's military stated that Chinese counter-space capabilities also include "jamming, laser, microwave, and cyber weapons" and that "China has also conducted increasingly complex close proximity operations between satellites while offering little in the way of transparency or explanation."

In fact, China's intentions in space, as with many aspects of its military modernization and cyber programs, are opaque. Washington has called for enhanced dialogue with Beijing on strategic issues and for military-to-military exchanges to help reduce uncertainty and potential misunderstandings. China has repeatedly blocked such efforts, usually in response to the announcement of U.S. military sales to Taiwan. In this respect, the recent visits by the Chinese defense minister to the United States and the commander of U.S. Pacific Command to China are encouraging developments.