Space Security in the Asia-Pacific

Abstract

Asian countries are becoming increasingly active and more serious players in outer space. On the other hand, political and military competition in Asia are also impacting the Asian space efforts. The growing space competition is indicated by the rapid increase in counter-space capabilities such as anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles, electronic and cyber warfare capabilities as well as new efforts at creating specialized military agencies devoted to space utilization. There are three key drivers to space conflict in Asia - increasing use of space for military purposes; civilian use that could also lead to conflict because of congestion and competition; and investments in military technologies such as ASAT and missile defense. Existing global governance mechanisms are clearly inadequate to manage these challenges. While there are a number of different ideas including the Prevention of Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS), political disagreements have so far prevented any progress. Unless the dangers inherent in this competition is recognised, the Asian space security efforts will only aggravate, which will further add to the challenges in developing global rules of the road. Key Asia-Pacific space players should make all efforts at developing legal measures, norms, Group of Governmental Experts (GGE), and codes of conduct.