In this special episode, we sat down with Rick Fisher, senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center. He talks about China’s growing space ambitions—from the Moon, to Mars, to asteroids.
Fisher touched on China’s recent hypersonic missile test, saying, “If China saw advantage in hitting any other country first with a nuclear weapon, it would do so. But an added danger is added with the advent of the fractional orbital bombardment system and the hypersonic glide vehicle, because that then gives China the option to use a non-nuclear warhead to achieve a strategic or near-strategic effect. And so the temptation to strike first with that weapon would be very high.”
He goes on to note that for China’s space ambitions, “China very clearly wants to involve the European Space Agency and Russia in its lunar programs. In the United Nations, and just in general, politically, you have added leverage to begin to set the rules. If you occupy certain regions first, then you have the option of transporting dual-use military capabilities to the moon that could prevent other countries, especially the United States, from accessing those same areas. So it’s important to occupy a kind of triangular or quadrilateral set of points on the southern part of the moon. That would probably be the first goal of both China and the United States.”
Watch the full episode on EpochTV.
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