US Space Force May Establish Joint Hotline with China

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The US Space Force may set up a direct line of communications with China’s space agency in order to deal with potential interplanetary emergencies, as well as keep tabs on Beijing’s nefarious activities in outer space.

US Space Force Commander General Chance Saltzman states that the idea, which is currently only an internal agency discussion, could be valuable in curbing the rising tensions between the nations. “What we have talked about on the US side at least is opening up a line of communication to make sure that if there is a crisis, we know who we can contact,” Saltzman said.

According to Cybernews, a direct line of communication with the China National Space Administration could also counter aggressive actions by the Communist regime, or ‘grey zone activities’ like jamming satellite signals for neighboring Indo-Pacific nations.

China currently has over 500 satellites in low earth orbit and has pledged to launch tens of thousands more in the near future in order to compete with the SpaceX constellation fleet.

Saltzman also spoke about the possibility of establishing a local headquarters in Japan, holding talks about the joint venture with top Japanese defense officials in Tokyo. In those talks, US and Japanese leaders have expressed concerns that China could follow in Russia’s footsteps and leverage the ability to disrupt satellite services to help further its mission to fully encapsulate the democratically independent Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China.

According to Saltzman, a deeper connection with like-minded countries would be crucial in being able to monitor and understand activity in the space domain to deter China. “We have to be able to have those indications and warnings and see what they’re doing and call them on the intent. Just being hypersensitive so we don’t fall prey to grey zone activities,” he said.