An American military satellite, USA 324, was recently observed making close passes near two Chinese satellites, TJS-16 and TJS-17, as tensions rise in a new space race.

The U.S. Space Force’s satellite performed proximity maneuvers—just 7 to 10 miles away—to inspect the Chinese satellites, which are believed to have military surveillance roles despite being labeled as communications experiments.

While the U.S. conducts such operations to monitor space objects, critics note the hypocrisy of objecting when other nations do the same, Newsweek has reported.

Written by B.C. Begley