China, North Korea, and Russia criticized the Trump administration’s plan for a space-based missile defense system, known as the “Golden Dome,” calling it a destabilizing move that could escalate a global arms race and lead to the militarization of space.
President Donald Trump said on May 20 that his administration had selected an architecture for the system, with an initial $25 billion in funding under consideration by Congress. The full program, estimated at $175 billion, would place interceptors and sensors in space to track and destroy missile threats, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), hypersonic weapons, and cruise missiles.
“Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world and even if they are launched from space, and we will have the best system ever built,” Trump said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry described the plan as a violation of the principle of peaceful use of outer space. “It will exacerbate the risk of turning outer space into a battlefield and starting an arms race,” spokesperson Mao Ning said. “China is seriously concerned about this,” she added. Beijing called for the U.S. to “abandon the development and deployment of a global missile defense system as soon as possible.”
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the plan was a “threatening initiative” characterized by “self-righteousness” and “arrogance.” State media described the initiative as “turning outer space into a potential nuclear war field.”
Russia also criticized the program. Foreign Minister Maria Zakharova said it would “undermine the basis of strategic stability by creating a global missile defense system.” In a joint statement earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping called the plan “deeply destabilizing” and said it erodes the “inseparable interrelationship between strategic offensive arms and strategic defensive arms.”
The Golden Dome proposal draws inspiration from Israel’s Iron Dome but aims to counter long-range missiles, a capability the U.S. lacks under current systems. Existing defenses, including 44 ground-based interceptors and naval Aegis systems, are limited in scale and scope. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the space-based portion of the project could cost $542 billion over two decades.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the initiative is designed to “protect our nation from aerial attacks from any foe” by integrating space-based sensors and interceptors. “All we care about is protecting the homeland,” Hegseth said. Gen. Michael Guetlein of the U.S. Space Force, overseeing the project, said adversaries are developing space-based weapons that could threaten U.S. national security.
.@SecDef on @POTUS‘ announcement on the construction of the Golden Dome: “Add this to the long and growing list of promises made and promises kept… It’s a generational investment in the security of America and Americans.” pic.twitter.com/i5oJGGG7d6
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 20, 2025
The Defense Intelligence Agency warned that missile threats from China, Russia, North Korea, and potentially Iran are increasing in both scale and sophistication. “North Korea has successfully tested ballistic missiles with sufficient range to reach the entire homeland, and Iran has space launch vehicles it could use to develop a military-viable ICBM by 2035, should Tehran decide to pursue the capability,” the agency reported.
Russian and Chinese officials argue the U.S. system violates the Outer Space Treaty, which bans the placement of weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies. “Its actions will once again open a Pandora’s box. This proves again that no country has done more than the U.S. in militarizing space and making it a battlefield,” said Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry.
Trump has framed the Golden Dome as a continuation of the missile defense efforts begun under President Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” program of the 1980s. He said the system would be operational by the end of his administration in 2029. Trump also said he had not yet discussed the plan with Putin but intended to “at the right time.”
