Unedited (translated from Russian)…China Russia statement:
The parties believe that the US “Golden Dome” project, aimed at building an unlimited, multi-layered, multi-domain, and global missile defense system to defeat any missiles, including all types of “peer” missiles, at all stages of their flight and before launch, poses a clear threat to strategic stability. These plans completely negate the key principle of maintaining strategic stability, which requires the inseparable interconnection of strategic offensive and strategic defensive weapons.
This significantly increases the risk of conflicts in space, contributes to the militarization of outer space and its transformation into a site of armed confrontation, runs counter to the principles of the peaceful use of outer space, enshrined in the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, of January 27, 1967 (Outer Space Treaty), and leads to an aggravation of an already difficult situation.
The Parties express their strict commitment to the Outer Space Treaty, which is the cornerstone of international space law, promote the strengthening of multilateral cooperation in this area on an equal and non-discriminatory basis, oppose unilateral approaches to the implementation of space activities, as well as the use of civil and commercial spacecraft for interference in the internal affairs of other States and illegal involvement in armed conflicts of other States.
The Parties oppose the deployment of weapons of any kind in outer space, the threat or use of force against or through space objects, and attempts by individual countries to use outer space for armed confrontation. They will oppose policies aimed at achieving military superiority in outer space and formally designating it as a combat domain. In this regard, the Parties note the serious negative consequences for international security associated with the implementation of the U.S. “Golden Dome” project, which includes the development and deployment of space-based interceptors. The Parties emphasize that this program significantly increases the risk of combat in space, facilitates the deployment of weapons in outer space and its transformation into an arena of armed confrontation, the threat or use of force against or through space objects, and runs counter to the goals of the peaceful use of outer space enshrined in the Outer Space Treaty.
The Parties reaffirm the need to promptly initiate international negotiations to develop a multilateral, legally binding instrument based on the Russian-Chinese draft treaty on the prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space, the threat or use of force against outer space objects, and the 2024 consensus report of the UN Group of Governmental Experts established by UN General Assembly resolution 77/250 that would provide fundamental and reliable guarantees for the prevention of an arms race in outer space. The Parties support the globalization of the international initiative/political commitment to not be the first to place weapons in outer space in order to strengthen international peace, ensure equal and indivisible security for all, and enhance the predictability and sustainability of States’ activities in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.
