Re:What's this new obsession with the Chinese... (Score 1)

The US military seems to think otherwise. Here a quote from an article in The Economist about the militarisation of space (http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10533205). The numer of nulcear missiles is not the only thing determining the outcome of a military conflict...

But the Pentagon worries about what would happen if America came up against a major power, a "near-peer" rival (as it calls China and Russia), able to intercept space assets with missiles and "space mines", or to disable them with lasers and electronic jammers. "There are a lot of vulnerabilities," admits an American general, "There are backups, but our space architecture is very fragile."

The precise nature of these weaknesses is a well-guarded secret. But wargames simulating a future conflict over Taiwan often end up with the "Red Force" (China) either defeating the "Blue Force" (America) or inflicting grievous losses on it by launching an early attack in space, perhaps by setting off one or more nuclear explosions above the atmosphere. "I have played Red and had a wonderful time," says the general, "It is pretty easy to disrupt Blue. We should not expect an enemy to play by established norms in space. They will play dirty pool."