Mission Shakti: How China and Pakistan reacted

ISLAMABAD/BEIJING: Pakistan issued a call against military threats in outer space on Wednesday, hours after India said it had shot down a low-orbiting satellite in a demonstration of its growing power in space.

"Space is the common heritage of mankind and every nation has the responsibility to avoid actions which can lead to the militarization of this arena," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement.

"We hope that countries which have in the past strongly condemned demonstration of similar capabilities by others will be prepared to work towards developing international instruments to prevent military threats relating to outer space," it said, without mentioning India by name.

"Boasting of such capabilities is reminiscent of Don Quixote's tilting against windmills," it said, in a reference to the delusional hero of the 17th-century Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes.

Meanwhile, China reacted guardedly to India's anti-satellite missile test and expressed hope that all countries will uphold peace and tranquillity in the outer space.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced that India successfully test-fired an anti-satellite missile by shooting down a live satellite, describing it as a rare achievement that puts the country in an exclusive club of space super powers.

The test makes India the fourth country in the world after the US, Russia and China to acquire the strategic capability to shoot down enemy satellites.

The chinese foreign ministry, in a written response to a question on India successfully test-firing an anti-satellite missile, said: "We have noticed reports and hope that each country will uphold peace and tranquillity in outer space".

China conducted such a test in January 2007 when its anti-satellite missile destroyed a defunct weather satellite.

Prime Minister Modi said in New Delhi that the action was not directed against any country and the satellite was a pre-determined target orbiting at an altitude of 300 km.

He said India did not breach any international laws or treaties by testing the the anti-satellite missile.

Mission Shakti, which was led by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, was aimed at strengthening India's overall security, he said in his address that comes a fortnight before the start of the general election.