PRAGUE—China describes its space activity—including the deployment of highly maneuverable satellites, satellites equipped with robotic arms, and moon missions—as nonmilitary. But officials from the United States and Taiwan, as well as independent space experts, worry that China is “rehearsing” how to use satellites as space weapons in the opening days of an invasion.
They also fear China is positioning itself to press other nations into accepting whatever space activities Beijing defines as “normal.”
Speaking at the 8th annual Space Security Conference here this week, Holmes Liao, a senior adviser to the Taiwan Space Agency, said China’s recent space activities are “not just logical demonstrations, but could be, maybe, rehearsals for future space design operations.”
Those activities include the use of several satellites to perform complex maneuvers—what Gen. Michael Guetlein, vice chief the U.S. Space Force, described in March as “dogfighting” in space, a term Liao echoed on Monday. Liao also recounted a January 2024 incident in which China launched a rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province: “Because of the trajectory,” he said, “Taiwanese radar picked up the launch as an incoming missile.”
That incident reflects an increasingly common Chinese tactic: using military exercises, launches or air patrols to trigger alarms in Taiwan. Last week, at the GLOBSEC security forum—also in Prague—Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister, Chen Ming-chi, said China’s “gray zone” operations are designed to strain Taiwan’s readiness and response capacity—sometimes by literally exhausting radar operators or pilots. The term refers to coercive actions that fall below the threshold of armed conflict.
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