And the most worrisome question of all – beside the potential for sparking a Sino-U.S. ASAT race – is whether China's other rival nations, most specifically, India, will seek to react in kind. India's media, predictably, has been harshly denouncing the Chinese test as a threat to India. "It threatens our own expanding civilian space assets, undermines the credibility of our nuclear deterrent, and exposes New Delhi's lack of a military space strategy," the Indian Express newspaper said in an editorial on Jan. 20. M. Natarajan, science advisor to India's Defense Ministry, said the government would be especially concerned if such Chinese missiles could "disable" satellites with military and/or navigation capabilities and told reporters that the Indian government is assessing "steps we need to initiate in this direction." Unfortunately, the Chinese test comes amid a renewed push by the Indian Air Force to establish a military hold on Indian space policy and funding; a push that has been underpinned by Air Force lobbying regarding the "China threat." There has been a steady drum-beat for a number of years regarding India's need to compete in military space, including the development of ASAT weaponry. In April 2005, Chief Air Marshall S. P. Tyagi told reporters in New Delhi that India intends to set up a Strategic Air Command, in part to lay the groundwork for counter-space capabilities. His remarks echoed those of his predecessor, Srinivaspuram Krishnaswamy, made in October 2003, telling reporters that work on the command was aimed at deploying weapons in space: "Any country on the fringe of space technology like India has to work towards such a command as advanced countries are already moving towards laser weapon platforms in space and killer satellites." While up to now, the Indian government has largely turned a deaf ear to Air Force advocacy, the Chinese ASAT test may turn the tide in its favor. When asked about India's anti-satellite capabilities, Natarajan refused comment, but noted: "Maybe we need to talk to ISRO [Indian Space Research Organisation]."

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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 24 ]