Opinion
Posted
President Donald Trump's order to create a "Space
Force" as the sixth branch of the US military is an escalation in the
rhetoric of a space arms race.
"We are going to have the Air Force
and we are going to have the Space Force, separate but equal," he said
at a meeting of the National Space Council.This follows earlier comments he made in March that "space is a war-fighting domain, just like the land, air and sea".
These are highly worrying sentiments coming from (arguably) the most powerful person on Earth.
It is true that space is strategic — but in different ways depending on one's perspective.
Space is often described as an area that is contested, congested and competitive where war is ultimately inevitable — so we better prepare for it.
But let me offer a different perception of space — one that is more in accordance with existing law and practice.
Sure, space is competitive, it is complex and it is challenging. But it is also cooperative, collaborative, collective, commercial, and holds many common interests.
These are equally important strategic considerations for the whole of humanity, let alone for Australia.
A self-fulfilling prophecy
Undoubtedly space is increasingly a "dual use" area — where satellites offer commercial services to civil and military customers — and it forms part of an integrated military platform for many countries.But must we start the conversation with an assumption that space is to be regarded as a "war-fighting domain"?
Is there really a need for a space corps? Is war in space really inevitable?
This is a dangerous assertion that risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy if it in fact becomes a driver for the development of our space strategy.
It also ignores the uniqueness of the space domain and the "peaceful purposes" and "common interest" doctrines that underpin it. In short, space is different.
To ignore this and seek out what military activities can be done in space relies on an overly simplistic assertion that what is not expressly prohibited by the treaties and international law is permitted.
This assertion is based on a statement more than 90 years ago when international courts were first grappling with the impact of international law and norms of behaviour on what countries did.
The world is far more sophisticated and nuanced now. It defies reality to attempt to militarise space without understanding the many aspects of the space environment. It also significantly underestimates the importance of space to the survival of humanity as a whole.
Indeed, at the Legal Sub-Committee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (where I have had the honour of being part of the Australian delegation for several years), there is a very different, though equally important perception of the strategic implications of the space domain.
It offers challenges and opportunities but incorporates a clear realisation that if we don't all stick to the rules, none of us will be able to garner the benefits that space offers for all of us.
Australia has plenty to gain
What implications does that have for Australia and our commercial activities and aspirations?
The space economy is growing at three times the rate of the total global economy.
We stand at the threshold of great optimism and opportunity for the Australian space industry, following the announcement of the establishment of the Space Agency, the report of an expert reference group outlining clear recommendations for a decade-long strategy for Australia's space industry and the long-awaited introduction of an amendment bill to our national space law to Parliament.
As well as significant commercial opportunities, Australia can play an important role as a responsible global space citizen.
We need uninterrupted space access
The militaristic view of space threatens the existing legal regime and can thwart the opportunities for all of us.Most countries are heavily dependent on space assets for the functioning of their economies and communities.
With this dependency comes a greater anxiety over potential vulnerability should those assets — and uninterrupted access to them — be compromised.
The fear is that rhetoric like Trump's will fuel a "race to the bottom" as all major space powers work towards an arms race in space.
This also gives rise to what I term the "creeping colonisation" of space around resource exploitation and attempts by countries to establish systems to protect themselves by denying access to space for others.
The international rules that govern space dictate responsible behaviour and freedom of access but not lawlessness, and an adherence to well-established international principles and norms of behaviour that serve us well.
No doubt there are areas for further reflection and development in the international legal framework for space, but the "humanity" of space and the need to use it for peaceful purposes underpins our very future. The existing rules — particularly as expressed in the Outer Space Treaty, to which all space powers are a party — recognise and reinforce these imperatives.
Thinking of space as a place to conduct war dangerously jolts the conversation and could gives rise to consequences that, frankly, are too horrible to contemplate.
Every effort must be made by all sectors of society to recalibrate those conversations.
Ironically, a good starting point could also be drawn from the words of Mr Trump himself: "There is no place like space."
Indeed that is the case. Let's ensure that we keep it that way and don't make the same horrible mistakes as we have here on Earth.
Steven Freeland is professor of international law at Western Sydney University and a member of the UNESCO EOLSS The Science of Space sub-committee.
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