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David Lampton

Lester Ross

The United States is in an arms race with China, similar to the one it had with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Space is being militarised as Beijing and Washington are on a course to dismantle the few current limits on space competition devised in that earlier era.
The US was first to land on the moon in July 1969. China started its crewed space programme relatively late, launching its first crewed flight in October 2003 and making remarkable achievements since. Beijing has announced plans to land a crewed mission on the moon by 2030 and launch a mission to secure samples from the Martian surface the same year.
America set a lander down on Mars in 1976, and Nasa is working to land humans on the moon again by the end of this decade. Nasa also plans for a crewed Mars mission in the 2030s, with Elon Musk setting SpaceX’s goal for crewed landings as early as 2029.
What rules will govern the establishment of a human presence on the moon and elsewhere in the solar system, governing claims of sovereignty, the exploitation of resources and the militarisation of space? What will happen to current international undertakings concerning the prohibition of placing weapons of mass destruction in space?
Jon B. Wolfsthal, director of global risk at the Federation of American Scientists, recently said that China, Russia and others are “testing new ways to deliver these weapons, including … nuclear weapons in space that can attack satellites or targets on Earth without warning”.


Such space activity is nominally governed by current international law. Hence, strengthening the peaceful uses of space can only be done by negotiating with China and other nations which are bound by the same treaty obligations as the US. Where norms and rules are absent, they should be developed and adopted.
The Outer Space Treaty – also known by its full name of The Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies – entered into force in October 1967 and the US ratified it the same month. China signed the Outer Space Treaty in 1967 but did not agree to be bound by it until 1983.
One could argue that the Outer Space Treaty already prohibits worrisome activity by signatories. It declares in Article II that: “Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.”
Meanwhile, Article IV provides: “States Parties to the Treaty undertake not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner.”


Beyond debates about where “outer space” begins or what constitutes “weapons”, these injunctions are fraying around the edges with Chinese, American and Russian fears about one another stoking the competition. This fraying is further aggravated by activities that could affect global communications, which are increasingly space-based and critical to national security as well as economic activity. Rapidly advancing technology, rising nationalism globally, the drive to secure resources on an interplanetary basis and the eternal quest by militaries for the high ground drive heightened competition.
Reaffirming, updating and expanding globally shared norms and rules on space is an urgent task. This was made harder by the US prohibition on space cooperation with China, along with US President Donald Trump’s 2020 issuance of Executive Order 13914, titled “Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources”.
There should be efforts to spur ratification of the 1979 Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. The agreement appears to have stalled, with just 18 countries having ratified it and a further six signing it but have yet to advance to ratification.

The Trump administration at a minimum should affirm its obligations under the Outer Space Treaty, including Article I, which states: “The exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind.”
According to Article 11 of the moon agreement, “[t]he moon is not subject to national appropriation by any claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means”. We are on the precipice of a space land grab by the spacefaring powers, and there is no better time to stop it.


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Space

Threat of US-China land grab in space demands urgent legal reforms

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Nasa shake-up casts doubt on moon programme, as Musk and Trump turn to Mars

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Jim Free, Nasa’s associate administrator. Photo: Reuters

Opinion

World Opinion

News

Science & Technology

Strengthening peaceful uses of space can only be done by negotiating with China and other nations bound by the same obligations as the US


Strengthening peaceful uses of space can only be done by negotiating with China and other nations bound by the same obligations as the US.


China's space programme

US-China relations

China

United States

Russia

Donald Trump

SpaceX

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Threat of US-China land grab in space demands urgent legal reforms

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Strengthening peaceful uses of space can only be done by negotiating with China and other nations bound by the same obligations as the US

Strengthening peaceful uses of space can only be done by negotiating with China and other nations bound by the same obligations as the US