Inside the Ring

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Space initiative

The Bush administration is preparing to reverse course on cooperating with China in the area of space technology.

Pentagon officials tell us the new policy is being readied for the upcoming visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao. President Bush, through the White House National Security Council, wants to adopt a Chinese proposal that calls for joint U.S.-China space rescue operations, in case something goes wrong during a U.S. or Chinese manned spaceflight.

The idea appears harmless on the surface, but some in the Pentagon fear the Chinese, as they have done in the past, will use the cooperation to boost their military space and missile programs. For more than a decade, the U.S. government has banned cooperation with China in space matters because of concerns about China's human rights abuses and its growing missile and anti-satellite weapons capabilities.

During the 1990s, lax controls by the administration of President Clinton led to the loss of extremely sensitive rocket technology from two U.S. companies, Loral and Hughes. As a result, China used the rocket technology to improve its long-range missiles. Both companies were fined for the improper control of technology.

Mr. Bush is said to support the idea, but also may not know about the concerns of national security officials and others who do not want the program to boost China's missiles or space arms.

The latest space proposal calls for standardizing the size of docking modules and is said to have the backing of acting National Security Council director for Asia Dennis Wilder, a target of conservatives who say he ignored Pentagon concerns about China's potential use of U.S. space technology for weapons.

Mr. Hu will visit the United States in the next few months. He postponed a visit in September because of Hurricane Katrina.

A Pentagon report on China's military published last year stated that "China is working on, and plans to field, [anti-satellite] systems."

"China is also conducting research to develop ground-based laser ASAT weapons," the report said.