Mission Shakti: How Pakistan and China reacted to India's anti-satellite missile test

Reacting to India's announcement of shooting down a live satellite with a missile – a rare achievement that puts the country in an exclusive club of space super powers – Pakistan on Wednesday said that it was against the militarisation of outer space.

"Space is the common heritage of mankind and every nation has the responsibility to avoid actions which can lead to the militarisation of this arena," Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said in a statement.

He said Pakistan was a "strong proponent of the United Nations resolution on Prevention of Arms Race in Outer Space".

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"Boasting of such capabilities (to destroy satellite) is reminiscent of Don Quixote's tilting against windmills," he said, describing India's test as like fighting imaginary enemies.

"We hope that countries which have in the past strongly condemned demonstration of similar capabilities by others will be prepared to work towards developing international instruments to prevent military threats relating to outer space," Faisal said, without naming any country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced that India successfully test-fired an anti-satellite missile by shooting down a live satellite, describing it as a rare achievement that puts the country in an exclusive club of space super powers.

The test makes India the fourth country in the world after the US, Russia and China to acquire the strategic capability to shoot down enemy satellites.

In New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that India has no intention of entering into an arms race in outer space.

"We have always maintained that space must be used only for peaceful purposes. We are against the weaponisation of Outer Space and support international efforts to reinforce the safety and security of space based assets," the MEA said.

Meanwhile, China reacted guardedly to India’s anti-satellite missile test an expressed hope that all countries will uphold peace and tranquillity in the outer space.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry, in a written response to a question from PTI on India successfully test-firing an anti-satellite missile, said: "We have noticed reports and hope that each country will uphold peace and tranquillity in outer space".

China conducted such a test in January 2007 when its anti-satellite missile destroyed a defunct weather satellite.