Denial

I think there’s some misunderstanding here:

The policy calls upon the Secretary of Defense to “develop capabilities, plans, and options to ensure freedom of action in space, and, if directed, deny such freedom of action to adversaries.”

Which is doubletalk for one of the deepest flaws of American exceptionalism, the rules-are-for-thee-not-me style of foreign policy. Why flawed? Because, when you’re the toughest you may be able to bully and bribe your way around most countries, but a few will wonder why they should put up with it. Which is a good question. Why should they? Nobody wants China to be knocking down satellites (it adds to the trash in orbit for one thing). However, if U.S. space policy is specifically designed with the intention to deny freedom of action to adversaries, then other countries are going to want the same. And if the U.S. isn’t willing to sign treaties attempting to hinder aggressive use of space, then what cautious world leader would not conclude aggressive intent on the part of the U.S.?

Virtually all military doctrine is designed around the goal of preserving freedom of action for oneself and denying it to the enemy. It’s not American exceptionalism, and it goes to the core of how war is fought. In the maritime sphere, preserving freedom of the seas for the transit of ones own goods and troops while denying freedom of the seas to an enemy is the basis for Mahanian doctrine. On the ground, AirLand Battle was essentially about creating freedom of maneuver for US forces while carrying the battle deep enough into the enemy’s interior to prevent maneuver on his/her part.

Meteor Blades is quite right that the dangers of space warfare (enormous debris fields that potentially preclude future use) call for a multilateral rather than a unilateral solution, and also that any normative condemnation of the Chinese test, given the US position on cooperation, is laughable. The passage quoted above, however, isn’t “double talk” for hegemony, or a “rules for thee, not me” position. It’s the application of basic principles of military science to a new theater of warfare.