What Is Space Diplomacy?

The art and practise of using space to conduct foreign affairs and advance national interests is Space Diplomacy.

Space has emerged as a new venue for global powers to compete and create dominance in competition and cooperation. The highly complex space technology offers international recognition, status and projects its soft-power.

 

SPACE AS A TOOL IN INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY

• Furthering Neighborhood First Policy: The South Asian satellite is aligned with India’s neighborhood first policy.
• Enhancing India's Soft-Power: As we share the fruits of developments in space technology with neighbours, it will also boost and project India's soft-power and goodwill among foreign countries. Compared to American or European counterparts, India's ISRO offers a cheaper alternative to launching satellites for developing countries, thereby taking them closer to India.
• Countering China: In Tibet, China has advanced satellite tracking centres that can not only track, but also blind, Indian satellites. Neighborhood Ground Stations would help India fight rising Chinese influence.
• New Area of Cooperation: Space is opening up a new area of cooperation between India and other countries to further improve bilateral ties with them.

 

CONCERNS ASSOCIATED WITH DIPLOMACY OF SPACE

• Lack of legal agreements: Space is one of the places where, with its peaceful use, little to no international treaties exist. The Office for Outer Space Affairs of the United Nations is working to encourage the peaceful use of outer space, but there are no binding arrangements, such as the NPT or CTBT, to prohibit space arms.
• Perpetuates global disparity between nations: It makes other underdeveloped and developing nations dependent on developed nations to make use of space because only a few countries have space technology.
• Misuse of resources: There is also concern that developing countries could spend too much on space programmes instead of addressing their citizens' basic needs. North Korean, for instance, also has a space programme while its person suffers from famine and malnutrition.
• Lack of a standardised description of the boundaries of space: no international consensus has been reached on the vertical range of sovereign space.
• Space-weaponization: As part of their space diplomacy, the weaponization of space could become a new instrument in the hands of nations in the future. Space missiles may be hundreds of times more deadly than modern weapons and have the power to wipe out mankind.

RELATED BODIES:

The platform for the development of international space law is the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space (COPUOS). Five international treaties have been concluded by the Committee:

• The "Outer Space Treaty" which regulates activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space.
• The "Rescue Agreement": on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space.
• The "Liability Convention": Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects.
• The "Registration Convention": Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space.
• The "Moon Agreement": which governs the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.

 

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)

The Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space (COPUOS) serves as the secretariat.

It is also responsible for enforcing the duties of the Secretary-General under international space law and for maintaining the Registry of Objects Launched into Outer Space by the United Nations.

 

Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO)

• It is an intergovernmental body functioning as an autonomous, non-profit agency with full international legal status.
• It has its headquarters in Peking, China.
• Space agencies from Bangladesh, China, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru, Thailand, and Turkey are members.
• The signatory state is Indonesia and the observer state is Mexico.
• It involves exchanging information, creating a network for space communication, and tracking space objects.
• India should consider creating such an entity.

 

Indian initiatives in Space Diplomacy:
•    India has also authorised SAARC nations to use its NAVIC regional positioning system.
•    India has also partnered with other nations, including NISAR.
•    During its Chandrayan Mission, India partnered with NASA, which found water on the moon.
•    Indian satellite data is widely exchanged with friendly countries for astronomical research that promotes goodwill and improves relationships.
•    Three international stations in Brunei, Indonesia and Mauritius are served by the ISRO Telemetry, Monitoring and Command Network (ISTRAC).
•    The India-Myanmar Friendship Centre for Remote Sensing was also founded in 2001 by the ISRO. South Asia Satellite or GSAT-9 is a geostationary communication satellite launched by the ISRO to provide various South Asian countries with communication applications. Any other applications include: tele-medicine, emergency management, e-governance, finance, etc.