China called on the United States Thursday to provide information about its shooting down of a defunct US spy satellite and voiced caution about the potential international impact of the operation.

"China is continuing to closely follow the possible harm caused by the US action to outer space security and relevant countries," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said when asked for a reaction to the shootdown.

"China further requests that the US fulfil its international obligations in earnest and promptly provide to the international community the necessary information and relevant data... so that relevant countries can take precautions."

A US Navy cruiser hit a defunct US spy satellite with a single missile late Wednesday in a successful interception 133 nautical miles in space over the Pacific, the US Defense Department said.

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US officials had earlier insisted the satellite would be shot down to stop it from tumbling to Earth and potentially posing a risk to humans.

But the operation had raised concerns elsewhere that the United States was trying to test an anti-satellite weapon, amid rising global tensions about the militarisation of space.

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