Photo by Andrei Armiagov / Shutterstock.
China is building cyber weaponry capable of seizing control of enemy satellites to jam them at crucial moments in combat, leaked CIA documents have revealed. While an anti-satellite cyber weapon in Beijing’s hands would be a worrying development, China’s continued efforts to covertly acquire or steal industrial intellectual property relating to space technology could be a more pressing issue for Western countries.
Beijing’s plans to build an anti-satellite weapon were uncovered in a trove of leaked classified documents, the FT reports. The CIA has assessed that China’s strategy of developing tools to “deny, exploit or hijack” enemy satellites is key to dominance in space, which it considers to be a “war-fighting domain”.
The document is one of dozens reportedly leaked onto a Minecraft server on social app Discord earlier this month. US Air Guardsman Jack Teixeira, 21, has been arrested and charged with alleged unauthorised retention and transmission of national defence information in relation to the leak.
Weapons such as those described in the documents are a part of Beijing’s wider plan to assert dominance in space by 2045. The Chinese government published a white paper in 2021 entitled China’s Space Program: a 2021 Perspective , in which it lays out its plans “to explore the vast cosmos, develop the space industry and build China into a space power.”
Related
China’s launching of satellites into space has since increased at pace. Over the last six months it has conducted 35 launches, “adding advanced communications and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance satellites to their orbital architecture,” said General B Chance Saltzman, US chief of space operations said last month.
Subscribe to the Saturday Read View all newsletters Your new guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture each weekend – from the New Statesman. Sign up here Select and enter your email address Morning Call Quick and essential guide to domestic and global politics from the New Statesman's politics team. World Review The New Statesman’s global affairs newsletter, every Monday and Friday. The Saturday Read Your new guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture each weekend - from the New Statesman. The Crash A weekly newsletter helping you fit together the pieces of the global economic slowdown. Ideas and Letters A newsletter showcasing the finest writing from the ideas section, covering political ideas, philosophy, criticism and intellectual history - sent every Wednesday. Green Times The New Statesman’s weekly environment email on the politics, business and culture of the climate and nature crises - in your inbox every Thursday. Events and Offers Sign up to receive information regarding NS events, subscription offers & product updates. Your email address Job title Job title
Administration / Office
Arts and Culture
Board Member
Business / Corporate Services
Client / Customer Services
Communications
Construction, Works, Engineering
Education, Curriculum and Teaching
Environment, Conservation and NRM
Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
Finance Management
Health - Medical and Nursing Management
HR, Training and Organisational Development
Information and Communications Technology
Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
Legal Officers and Practitioners
Librarians and Library Management
Management
Marketing
OH&S, Risk Management
Operations Management
Planning, Policy, Strategy
Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
Projects, Programs and Advisors
Property, Assets and Fleet Management
Public Relations and Media
Purchasing and Procurement
Quality Management
Science and Technical Research and Development
Security and Law Enforcement
Service Delivery
Sport and Recreation
Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
Wellbeing, Community / Social Services Job title Administration / Office Arts and Culture Board Member Business / Corporate Services Client / Customer Services Communications Construction, Works, Engineering Education, Curriculum and Teaching Environment, Conservation and NRM Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance Finance Management Health - Medical and Nursing Management HR, Training and Organisational Development Information and Communications Technology Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities Legal Officers and Practitioners Librarians and Library Management Management Marketing OH&S, Risk Management Operations Management Planning, Policy, Strategy Printing, Design, Publishing, Web Projects, Programs and Advisors Property, Assets and Fleet Management Public Relations and Media Purchasing and Procurement Quality Management Science and Technical Research and Development Security and Law Enforcement Service Delivery Sport and Recreation Travel, Accommodation, Tourism Wellbeing, Community / Social Services Sign up Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. THANK YOU Close
The country is also developing and deploying different constellations of dual-use military satellite and reconnaissance systems called Yaogan satellites, and has recently announced its intention to launch a large constellation of optical micro-satellites.
On Wednesday, Sir Jeremy Fleming, head of GCHQ expressed his worry about Beijing’s bid for tech dominance, telling the CyberUK conference in Belfast that “lumbering monsters” that the UK and its allies need to watch out for.
China is not dominant in space yet. The US currently owns 1937 satellites, as opposed to China’s 182, according to Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard and Smithsonian Centre Centre for Astrophysics in Cambridge Massachusetts, in his report Space Activities in 2022.
Because of this, building of an anti-satellite weapon is not surprising, explains Georgia Osborne, senior research analyst at Oxford Information Labs. “It is not out of the realms of possibility,” she says. “We’ve seen how China has been very active in the space program, especially in the last few years. They’ve been experimenting a lot with AI in space as well and in the development of high tech satellites.”
Satellites have played a crucial role in the war in Ukraine, with SpaceX’s Starlink being used to enhance communications after the Viasat network was attacked at the start of the invasion. “We’re seeing satellites being used and also given and donated when communications are down,” explains Osborne. “Space is the next realm that people should be looking at in terms of cyber and military capabilities.”
The technology being developed by China could be particularly problematic for Taiwan in the event of any invasion. However, Osborne says Western countries should have more pressing worries about Beijing’s forays into orbit.
“I do think there is more of a concern in terms of monitoring any covert acquisition of intellectual property, which is something that we really need to watch out for,” she says. Covert acquisition of intellectual property is a way of fast-tracking technological developments to assert further dominance in space.
The number of reported China-related espionage cases has significantly increased over the past two decades. And acquiring commercial technology makes up the majority (51%) of recently reported espionage cases, states a report by technology intelligence firm Dragonfly.
Chinese state agencies are likely to intensify their operations in the wider Asian region in the medium term. With more firms operating in sensitive sectors having reduced their presence in mainland China, Chinese threat actors will need to target companies abroad, the Dragonfly report says.
“I think there’s a real case for activity in space around covert attack acquisition and first mover advantage,” says Osborne.
This piece was originally published by TechMonitor on April 23.

This data comes from MediaIntel.Asia's Media Intelligence and Media Monitoring Platform.