Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth denied China’s claim the Golden Dome would turn space into a “war zone.”
“All we care about is protecting the homeland,” Hegseth told Fox News Digital while departing from a trip to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
President Donald Trump has said for a long time defense of the homeland is critical to his “America First” policy, and the Golden Dome is a generational investment.
Chinese Foreign Minister Mao Ning claimed this week the Golden Dome has a “strong offensive nature and violates the principle of peaceful use in the Outer Space Treaty.”
CHINA ACCUSES US OF ‘TURNING SPACE INTO A WARZONE’ WITH TRUMP’S GOLDEN DOME MISSILE DEFENSE PROJECT
“The project will heighten the risk of turning space into a war zone and creating a space arms race and shake the international security and arms control system,” Mao said. “We urge the U.S. to give up developing and deploying global anti-missile system.”
Trump, alongside Hegseth, released some details about the project earlier in the week, explaining there’s an ambitious plan to complete the missile defense shield in three years for $125 billion.
Hegseth also responded to pushback over his decision to kick off a monthly Christian prayer service at the Pentagon, which sparked a debate over religious freedom and the separation of church and state.
“Appealing to heaven, to God, is a longstanding tradition in our military,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said of his monthly Pentagon prayer service. (Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza/Navy)
“We’ve said it very publicly, and we’ve said it very proudly. Appealing to heaven, to God, is a longstanding tradition in our military,” Hegseth said, adding that George Washington got on bended knee alongside his continental Army forces.
“I appeal to Jesus Christ for that protection, to speak that word and be open and willing to talk about it at the Pentagon. If they want to criticize that, they’re on the wrong side,” he said.
His remarks…
