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Astropolitics
The International Journal of Space Politics & Policy
Volume 17, 2019 - Issue 1: Space Power and Security Trilemma in South Asia
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Articles

South Asia and Space Security

Pages 62-69 | Published online: 12 Feb 2019
 

ABSTRACT

Space competition and the risk of military conflict in space are emerging as key features of the twenty-first-century geopolitical environment. Although there is a natural focus on the risk of military conflict in space between the United States, China, and Russia, South Asian security will also be affected by space competition. Indian space capabilities are developing rapidly, and are emerging as one of the more advanced regional space programs; there is clear risk that Chinese and Indian space competition will increase. A key feature of twenty-first-century space security dynamics is Space 2.0, in which commercial space actors can exploit new technologies and approaches to accessing and utilizing space. For India, exploiting Space 2.0 is an important step, in particular to balance Chinese counterspace capabilities.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Malcolm Davis, “The US Thinks about Space War,” The Strategist, https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-us-thinks-about-space-warfare/ (accessed 18 October 2017).

2. Matt Sivacek, “Is it Time? Ending the Military’s Reliance on GPS,” Real Clear Defense, https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2018/02/28/is_it_time_ending_the_militarys_reliance_on_gps__113131.html (accessed 28 February 2018); see also “Department of Defense,” GPS.gov, https://www.gps.gov/governance/agencies/defense/ (accessed 22 January 2019).

3. Frank Gorenc, “NATO Air Power: The Last Word,” The Journal of the JAPCC, 23, no. 1 (2016): 6.

4. Brian Weeden and Victoria Samson, “Global Counterspace Capabilities: An Open Source Assessment,” Secure World Foundation, https://swfound.org/media/206118/swf_global_counterspace_april2018.pdf (accessed 10 April 2018); and Todd Harrison, Kaitlyn Johnson and Thomas G. Roberts, “Space Threat Assessment 2018,” CSIS, https://www.csis.org/analysis/space-threat-assessment-2018 (accessed 12 April 2018).

5. Anthony H. Cordesman, “China’s Space Strategy and Developments,” CSIS, https://www.csis.org/analysis/china-space-strategy-and-developments (accessed 19 August 2016).

6. Weeden and Samson, “Global Counterspace Capabilities,” 3–1.

7. Malcolm Davis, “Space Force on the Horizon… Maybe,” The Strategist, https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/space-force-on-the-horizon-maybe/ (accessed 7 August 2018).

8. Stephen Clark, “India Lofts a Record 104 Spacecraft on a Single Rocket,” Spaceflight Now, https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/02/15/india-lofts-a-record-104-spacecraft-on-a-single-rocket/ (accessed 15 February 2017).

9. “Space 1.0” can best be defined in terms of traditional government-run space agencies (i.e., NASA, ESA, or ISRO), which run a taxpayer-funded “end to end” space program that does everything from manufacture and launch satellites and rockets, train astronauts, do advanced research and development, and formulate space policy. It tends to be slower, risk-averse, and eschew rapid innovation, and instead invests in older, tested technology that slows technological progress and mission execution.

10. Malcolm Davis, “Space 2.0—Why it Matters for Australia’s Defence,” The Strategist, https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/space-2-0-matters-australias-defence/ (accessed 30 April 2018).

11. “Australian Space Agency,” Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, https://www.industry.gov.au/strategies-for-the-future/australian-space-agency (accessed 15 January 2019); see also ASPI’s section on “Building Australia’s Strategy for Space,” Australian Strategic Policy Institute, https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/dinkus/building-australias-strategy-for-space/ (accessed 13 June 2018)

12. “China Launches First Rocket Designed by a Private Company,” Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-launch-china-onespace/china-launches-first-rocket-designed-by-a-private-company-idUSKCN1II0FK (accessed 17 May 2018); see also Sean O’Kane, “China’s First Private Rocket Launch Kicks Off the Country’s Commercial Space Race,” The Verge, https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/19/17369200/china-private-rocket-launch-onespace-satellites (accessed 19 May 2018).

13. Andrew Jones, “Chinese Commercial Launch Sector Nears Takeoff with Suborbital Rocket Test,” Space News, https://spacenews.com/chinese-commercial-launch-sector-nears-takeoff-with-suborbital-rocket-test/ (accessed 15 May 2018).

14. “RLV-TD,” Indian Space Research Organisation, https://www.isro.gov.in/launcher/rlv-td (accessed 2 December 2018).

15. “Antrix Corporation Limited,” Antrix, http://www.antrix.co.in/ (accessed 22 January 2019).

16. Malcolm Davis, “Avoiding a Free-for-All: The Outer Space Treaty Revisited,” The Strategist, https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/avoiding-a-free-for-all-the-outer-space-treaty-revisited/ (accessed 16 July 2018).

17. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, “What’s Next for India’s Space Program,” The Diplomat, https://thediplomat.com/2018/01/whats-next-for-indias-space-program/ (accessed 20 January 2018).

18. Raja Mansoor, “Pakistan is Losing the Space Race,” The Diplomat, https://thediplomat.com/2018/02/pakistan-is-losing-the-space-race/ (accessed 1 February 2018).

19. “Pakistan Set to Launch Space Programme to Keep an Eye on Indian Side: Report,” The Economic Times, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/science/pakistan-set-to-launch-space-programme-to-keep-an-eye-on-indian-side-report/articleshow/63960215.cms (accessed 29 April 2018).

20. Joan Johnson-Freeze, “Asia’s Many Space Races,” The Diplomat, https://thediplomat.com/2018/12/asias-many-space-races/ (accessed 1 December 2018).

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