(EIRNS)—In an interview on Saturday, July 2 with the German tabloid Bild, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson accused China of wanting to take control of the Moon. The interview was picked up widely by the international press. (https://www.bild.de/politik/inland/politik-inland/nasa-chef-schlaegt-alarm-chinesen-wollen-den-mond-besetzen-80490242.bild.html)
“There is a new race to space—this time with China,” he asserted. He emphasized that in 2035, Beijing might finish construction of its own Moon stations, and start experiments a year later. He was particularly concerned about bases near the Southern pole, which has the potential of water deposits, that could be used for creation of rocket fuel. He expressed deep concern that once China landed on the Moon, it would claim it as its own territory and keep other nations at bay.
He also accused China of working on techniques to destroy other nations’ satellites, Bild reported.
“In fact, China has been researching technologies for years to ‘catch’ satellites with robotic arms or nets and cause them to crash: Supposedly to clean up its own space debris, but in fact satellites from foreign countries could also be attacked in this way.”
The NASA administrator also declared that, “China is good. But China is also good because they steal ideas and technology from others.”
RT reported: “In April [Nelson] accused Chinese officials of refusing to work with the U.S. on its operations and of concealing important data. Earlier, however, he acknowledged that NASA abides by a 2011 law that prohibits the agency from engaging in direct collaboration with the Chinese government or any China-affiliated organizations without explicit approval from Congress and federal law enforcement authorities. Chinese officials have pointed to that ban, called the Wolf Amendment, as ‘unfortunate’ and an impediment to direct cooperation with NASA.”
The Global Times responded with comments from Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, who pointed out the obvious irony that it is in fact the U.S. which is viewing the Moon from a colonial mentality.
Song also stated that China has always made efforts to build a community with a shared future for humankind. The country always believes that the Moon does not belong to any country alone, but to all humanity.
He also pointed to the stagnation and other issues in the U.S. space program; that the U.S. used to be an innovative country, but now has allowed partisan politics to poison its space and scientific endeavors, holding the space program up like an ornament, and with a dubious future.
Global Times concluded with a warning: “The U.S. is now regarding China as its imaginary enemy at all times to contain China, which will undoubtedly cost it a lot. The U.S. is now in a de facto arms race in space, which will do nothing good to its space industry.” Song pointed out that “only when the world’s major developed countries in science and technology join together can we provide more impetus to the progress of human civilization. This is exactly the Chinese idea of building a community with a shared future for humankind, but this forward thinking is apparently not a choice of the U.S. now.” (https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202207/1269654.shtml )
