The United States and Australia both said they were waiting to hear from Beijing after it reportedly blasted one of its own weather satellites on January 11.

"We've asked the Chinese to give us some greater details about what they did, why they did it, and explain it in greater detail to us simply because of the concerns that we have about this issue," said State Department spokesman Tom Casey.

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer, who summoned the Chinese ambassador in protest, said he was still also waiting on Saturday to hear an official explanation.

"The information we have is that a missile was fired at an old Chinese weather satellite and destroyed the weather satellite, and so we would like to hear what China has to say about it," Downer said.

"The Chinese have always opposed the militarization of outer space, so that's why we look forward to hearing what they have to say about the issue," he added.

"They're not saying very much about it, I must say, at the moment."

The missile blast was reported by US officials but not confirmed by Beijing, which has played down fears of an extraterrestrial arms race.

"There's no need to feel threatened about this," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said on Friday.

"We are not going to get into any arms race in space," he said.

If confirmed, it would be the first case since the 1980s when the Soviet Union and the United States both destroyed satellites in space.

The test would mean China could now theoretically shoot down spy satellites operated by other nations.

The United States, which condemned the strike on Friday, expressed worries that debris could endanger the manned International Space Station or orbiting satellites.

The problem of debris forced the US and Soviet Union to abandon the practice of shooting down satellites.

"I think you've certainly seen, given the history of some of the events of manned space flights, that small things can cause very big problems," said State Department spokesman Casey.

US ally Taiwan, which China regards as its territory and has repeatedly threatened to invade, called for worldwide pressure on Beijing and warned of a threat to regional peace.

"We urge the international community to express their concerns over China's move, which would have negative impact on peace in the Taiwan Strait and in the region," said cabinet spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang.

"The satellite shoot-down showed that China has expanded its arms race to space and that its so-called 'peaceful rise' is merely an illusion," he said.

Canada also expressed "strong concerns", the foreign ministry said.

"Canada has expressed its strong concerns to the Chinese authorities over the reported anti-satellite test and the possible negative effects," said a ministry spokesman in Ottawa.

Meanwhile newspapers around the world voiced concern over the incident and urged efforts to ban the use of weapons in space.

"In a power play reminiscent of the Cold War, it (China) has unilaterally kicked aside a well-established international policy of voluntary restraint," the London Times editorial said.

"Instead of gloating, Beijing should move rapidly to repair the damage, first by providing full details of the test. It should then rejoin the consensus against testing in space."

The New York Times said: "The way to counter China or any other potentially belligerent space power is through an arms control treaty, not a new arms race in space."

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