Further, if the ASAT test was part of an effort to drive the United States into space-related negotiations with China, again it may backfire – at least in the near term. It is true that there has been a chorus of calls for the United States to now undertake efforts to ban ASATs, or at a minimum, ASATs that create debris. For example, Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., stated: "American satellites are the soft underbelly of our national security, and it is urgent that President Bush move to guarantee their protection by initiating an international agreement to ban the development, testing, and deployment of space weapons and anti-satellite systems." Industry weekly Space News also urged the Bush administration to change course and consider "whether new and verifiable accords – such as a ban on the testing of anti-satellite weapons in space," noting that it "only makes sense to ban an activity that increases debris that threatens the satellites of multiple countries." However, there are no signs that the administration intends to heed such advice. Rather, quite the opposite. An unnamed State Department official told Space News in the immediate wake of the Chinese test: "We do not think there is an arms race in space. …. Arms control is not a viable solution for space." Similarly, attitudes among congressional hard-liners are expected to harden even more; while some moderates may be pushed into more hard-line stances. For example, Rep. Terry Everett, R-Ala., former chairman of the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee and long a moderate Republican voice on the issue of space weapons, issued a statement condemning the Chinese test and noting: "We cannot afford to stand idly by and not address these threats immediately."

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Hitchens, Theresa. "U.S.-Sino Relations in Space: From "War of Words" to Cold War in Space." China Security. (Winter 2007): 12-30. [ 6 quotes ] [ page 22 ]