Space Security More Important Than Ever

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UNITED NATIONS , Oct 18 2012 (IPS) - More intentional cooperation is needed to promote responsible operations and to ensure both outer space and global security.

“One of the biggest shifts from when we started off in a space game is no longer a world which is dominated by a few major players,” Ben Baseley-Walker, lead manager of the Emerging Security Threats Programme at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), said in his opening remarks.

“Space now is used by nearly every single U.N. member state. There are over 60 states operating or owning space assets. This is no longer a superpower game. This is something which affects all members of international community,” he added.

UNIDIR, a Geneva-based U.N. autonomous institute that conducts research on disarmament and security, held a panel discussion Thursday to elaborate on the idea of space security . The conference, entitled ‘The future of space security: framing the development of TCBMs in multilateral fora’, was focused on challenges arising from space security as well as transparency and confidence-building measures (TCBMs) for outer space activities in U.N. multilateral processes.

In his statement, Duncan Blake, Legal Advisor, Defence Space Coordinating Office at the Australian Department of Defence, pointed out how space assets affects and facilitates the everyday life of population on Earth. Moreover, many states depend heavily on space technology for the functioning of their economic and financial markets.

According to Blake, “Military forces are particularly depended on space-based infrastructure,” with military operations that involve disaster relief, U.N. peacekeeping operations or national defence at the forefront.

Blake pointed out that the international community should use the opportunity for updating, refining and expanding of legal framework in order to guarantee secure, safe and sustainable outer space, adding that, however, the lack of a more comprehensive governance structure and transparency could lead to some grave implications for all.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty has been already ratified by almost 100 states and provides the basic framework on international space law. There is a growing consensus between countries on the need to secure and sustain space through multilateral mechanisms and enforcing of international cooperation at both national and international levels.

“The law already exists, the challenge is to apply it in an international context,” Blake said. However, many states are still in disagreement about how should the issue of space security be approached to move forward.

“Some countries prefer binding agreements such as treaties and others, such as United States, do not,” Joan Johnson-Freese, Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, said at the conference. “But countries are recognising that a start to deal with this critical problem is better than no start at all,” she added.