WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to streamline federal regulation governing commercial rocket launches, a move that would benefit Elon Musk’s SpaceX and other private space ventures.
Trump’s order, among other things, directs the US transportation secretary to eliminate or expedite environmental reviews for launch licenses administered by the Federal Aviation Administration, the White House said in a statement.
The declaration also calls on the secretary to do away with “outdated, redundant or overly restrictive rules for launch and reentry vehicles.”
“Inefficient permitting processes discourage investment and innovation, limiting the ability of US companies to lead in global space markets,” the executive order states.
It added: “Overly complex environmental and other licensing and permitting regulations slow down commercial space launches and infrastructure development, and benefit entrenched incumbents over new market entrants .”
Although Musk and Trump have remained embroiled in a high-profile feud for months, the billionaire entrepreneur’s SpaceX rocket and satellite venture potentially stands to be the single biggest immediate beneficiary of Trump’s order on Wednesday.
SpaceX, although not mentioned by name in the executive order, easily leads all other US space industry entities, including NASA, in the sheer number of launches it routinely conducts.
Musk has complained that environmental impact reviews and post-flight mishap investigations have repeatedly slowed down testing of SpaceX’s ambitious new Starship rocket vehicle, under development at the company’s South Texas launch facility.
Trump orders easing of commercial spaceflight regulations, in boon to Musk’s SpaceX
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Trump orders easing of commercial spaceflight regulations, in boon to Musk’s SpaceX
- The declaration also calls on the secretary to do away with “outdated, redundant or overly restrictive rules for launch and reentry vehicles.”
US backs Japan in dispute with China over radar incident
- US criticizes China for radar targeting Japanese aircraft
- Incident follows Japan PM’s remarks on potential Chinese attack on Taiwan
WASHINGTON/TOKYO: The United States has for the first time criticized China for aiming radars at Japanese military aircraft during a training exercise last week, incidents that the Asian neighbors have given differing accounts of amid escalating tensions.
The run-in near Japan’s Okinawa islands comes after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi triggered a dispute with Beijing last month with her remarks on how Tokyo might react to a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan.
China claims democratically governed Taiwan and has not ruled out using force to take control of the island, which sits just over 100 km from Japanese territory and is surrounded by sea lanes that Tokyo relies on.
“China’s actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability,” a State Department spokesperson said late Tuesday, referring to the radar incident.
“The US-Japan Alliance is stronger and more united than ever. Our commitment to our ally Japan is unwavering, and we are in close contact on this and other issues.”
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Japan late on Tuesday scrambled jets to monitor Russian and Chinese air forces conducting joint patrols around the country.
MOST SERIOUS INCIDENT IN YEARS
The Chinese fighter jets aiming their radars at the Japanese planes on Saturday was the most serious run-in between the East Asian militaries in years.
Such moves are seen as a threatening step because it signals a potential attack and may force the targeted plane to take evasive action. Tokyo blasted the moves as “dangerous.”
Beijing, however, said that the Japanese aircraft had repeatedly approached and disrupted the Chinese navy as it was conducting previously announced carrier-based flight training east of the Miyako Strait.
Speaking to reporters in Taipei on Wednesday, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said China’s drills were “very inappropriate behavior.”
“We also call upon China to demonstrate the responsibility befitting a major power. Peace is priceless; war has no winners. Peace must be fostered by all parties, and China shares this responsibility,” he said.
Relations between Asia’s two largest economies have soured sharply since Takaichi told parliament last month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could amount to a “survival-threatening situation” and trigger a potential military response from Tokyo.
Beijing has demanded she retract the remarks, accused Tokyo of threatening it militarily and advised its citizens not to travel to Japan.
US Ambassador to Japan George Glass has publicly expressed support for Japan in several social media posts since the diplomatic dispute began, but President Donald Trump and other senior US officials have remained silent.
Trump, who plans to visit Beijing next year for trade talks, telephoned Takaichi last month, urging her not to escalate the dispute, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
