HONG KONG: China’s state security ministry said foreign spy intelligence agencies have been trying to steal secrets from the country’s space programme as the arms race in space intensifies and emerges as a new “battlefield for military struggle”.

Safeguarding space security had become a key strategy for China’s future survival and development, the ministry said in a post on its official Wechat account on Wednesday.

“In recent years, some Western countries have formed space combat forces, exercised space action capabilities and even regarded (China) as a major competitor in the space field,” it said.

Foreign spy intelligence agencies had also conducted remote sensing detection against China through high-precision satellites, intending to observe and steal secrets from China from space.

It did not name any specific countries but said some had “carried out infiltration and stealing activities in China’s aerospace field”.

High-precision satellites had emerged as a focus in modern warfare, with their importance a highlight in Russia’s war on Ukraine where real-time and ultra-detailed images would offer substantial leverage in the battlefield.