All went well and in the ensuing aftermath, tonnes of disused space equipment were sent hurtling in space, threatening your TV reception or mobile phone network and perhaps providing another excuse in the worn handbook listing reasons why Bin Laden still roams free.

In the West they have hee-hawed and a few jingoists and racialists, having long since lost the plot, called for diplomatic and military measures to be taken against the Giant Panda. What exactly these measures would entail or indeed the specific utility of attacking the very country that you must at all costs keep happy is lost on me, but for some in the West, talking tough is an entirely wholesome intrinsic good that needs no qualifying.

Contrary to what blather your nearest vendor of Newspeak may be doling, the Chinese fire-cracker was not exactly a surprise. According to this report here in the Christian Science Monitor- note the authors- the Chinese have for a very long time sought to bring to the negotiation table the issue of anti-satellite missile technology desiring that it be banned. After having these overtures turned down by the USA, the Chinese borrowed a good leaf from their predecessors as masters of humanity, i.e the Americans, and decided to flex some love muscle.

Now it remains to be seen what the American response will be, but the USA set the precedent for this when they pulled just such a move in the early 1980's deploying medium range missiles in Europe to compel the Soviets to negotiations on limiting such weaponry. Given the fact that the Bush administration has been consistent in its global sabre-rattling and in its refusal to discuss legal agreements that could restrict countries from acquiring these capabilities; the Chinese move ought perhaps to be lauded by all mankind. This is especially the case as we would find it quite unpleasant to have assorted debris  from a space-war peppering our cities or potholing our highways ( scared?) , regardless of how feeble and inconsequential our international voice is. 

That said, if like me you are infected with a healthy dose of cynicism about America and her being a ‘force of good' -thank you Sean Hannity- then you will be pleased to have it confirmed with the knowledge that the USA was very interested in taking the very same path the Chinese have taken, and that this furore is just a mild case of petulance from the playground bully.

Some souls aflutter declare that this ought to be a reason to fear some more for our already dangerous and terrified world, that here is another plain where we ‘the grass' would encounter the heavy hooves of the battling pachyderms. It is more likely though that these are the first signs of the rousing of the Panda, and that underpinning the détente that has prevailed previous to this test, is an understanding that some kinds of strife are best avoided. So we cross our fingers, alive to the truth that they may stay crossed for eternity, that before this goes any further, the Americans take a hint, and agree to leave space free of their aggression.