"It threatens our own expanding civilian space assets, undermines the credibility of our nuclear deterrent, and exposes New Delhi's lack of a military space strategy," the Indian Express newspaper said in an editorial.

"India can either respond with a robust military space effort in collaboration with the US or consign itself to the status of a second-rate power in Asia," the daily said under the headline "Spaced Out?"

There was no official reaction from the Indian government on its Asian neighbour becoming only the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to shoot down an object in space.

The shooting of its weather satellite was reported by US spy agencies on Thursday, drawing condemnation from Washington and its Asian allies amid concerns about China's growing military might.

If confirmed, the test would mean China could now theoretically shoot down spy satellites operated by other nations.

However Beijing has played down fears of a military space race while refusing to confirm the shootdown had occurred.

The test is "definitely a concern for all countries with satellite capabilities," K. Santhanam, former chief adviser to the state-funded Defence Research and Development Organisation told the Times of India.

"Satellites, after all, form an important past of communications, command, control and intelligence systems," Santhanam said.

This month the civilian Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launched a rocket into space carrying a remote sensing satellite as well as satellites from Indonesia and Argentina.

The ISRO's ambitious space program includes unmanned missions to the moon by 2010 and to Mars by 2013.