House Democrat Fears Looming Space War: ‘We’ll All Be Dead’
Joel Gehrke / Washington Examiner
(May 6, 2021) — Major powers are “rapidly militarizing space” to prepare for a prospective conflict that could have devastating effects in the absence of norms to restrict such weapons, according to a senior Democrat.
“I suspect the norm is ‘he who is strongest will win at the end of the process,’ and we’ll all be dead,” California Rep. John Garamendi said during a congressional hearing on space policy.
A quartet of State Department and Pentagon officials appeared before members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and House Armed Services Committee for a discussion of “creating a framework for Rules-Based Order in Space.” Much of the conversation conceded the near-impossibility of establishing that framework, given Chinese and Russian disinterest in serious negotiations over such rules and their enthusiasm for developing capabilities that can threatenAmerican satellites.
“Sometimes, the Russians do not even want to acknowledge that certain activities are indeed taking place,” the State Department’s Bruce Turner, a senior official in the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance, told lawmakers Wednesday. “We have done our best to bring experts, military and diplomatic experts, to some of these meetings to discuss these issues. But thus far, the Russians really have not engaged in a satisfactory way.”
That lack of concord troubles Garamendi. “Clearly, we have a situation in which, on the military side of it, space is a domain to a war,” the California Democrat said. “And unfortunately, we are all — not just the United States, China, and Russia, but others — rapidly militarizing space with the anticipation that there could be trouble in the future.”
China has taken the most aggressive and visible step toward “the weaponization of space” from the American perspective by using a ballistic missile to destroy a defunct Chinese satellite in 2007. That test, perceived in Washington as a message from Beijing that Chinese forces can target American satellites in a crisis, has left thousands of pieces of debris orbiting the Earth in outer space.
“It certainly was irresponsible,” Space Force Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting said. “With 3,000 pieces of debris left on orbit that we continue to track 10 years later, 10% of all the trackable objects on orbit — I can’t imagine what led them to do that and to continue to pollute the domain and put us all at risk.”
Whiting emphasized that the U.S. doesn’t want to fight a war in space. “Let me be clear — even with this weaponization of space, we do not want a war to extend into space, and we want to do everything possible to deter that,” he said.
Such deterrence may prove the only plausible impediment to conflict in space if the pessimism of arms control negotiators is any guide. “We do not exclude the possibility of legally binding treaties down the road, but that’s not where we are given the kinds of competitions posed by Russia and China,” Turner said.
Garamendi, the California Democrat, expressed interest in developing potential norms at least for private sector commercial spacefarers, but another diplomat sounded a note of caution in that respect as well.
“One of the difficulties we face is that, of course, with Russia and China, there really aren’t commercial activities,” the State Department’s Jonathan Moore, the principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, told the lawmakers.
Comments
Don — Two paragraphs from House Democrat fears looming space war: ‘We’ll all be dead’ contradict the emails and articles I’ve seen from peace groups claiming that Russia and China have been asking for treaties about the militarization of space. Those paragraphs also seem to contradict Russia calls for talks on binding treaty to ban weapons deployment in Space and Chinese Foreign Ministry calls for promptly starting talks on space arms control. [See stories below — EAW]
Perhaps one or both sides are distorting/spinning the truth.
Nicholas — All four links presenting the “We’re all going to die” side of this argument are to articles in the Washington Examiner, identified by Wikipedia as a mouthpiece for its conservative publisher to target influential people in Washington. So whatever may or may not be going on on the other side, one side is unabashedly committed to “distorting/spinning the truth,” as you suggested.
China and Russia Call for Ban on Space War
Chinese Foreign Ministry Calls for Promptly Starting Talks on Space Arms Control
Sputnik & RIA Novosti
BEIJING (Apr il14, 2021) — China is calling on the global community to urgently start the negotiations on the space arms control, which should be based on a document proposed by Beijing and Moscow, the foreign ministry’s spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said on Tuesday.
“We are calling on the international community to start negotiations and reach agreement on arms control in order to ensure space safety as soon as possible,” Zhao said at a briefing, noting that the talks should be based on the draft agreement proposed by the two countries.
“China has always been in favor of preventing an arms race in space, it has been actively promoting negotiations on a legally binding agreement on space arms control jointly with Russia,” the diplomat added.
Just on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for launching negotiations aimed at creating an internationalist instrument that would ban the deployment of any kinds of weapons in space. Lavrov proposed taking the Russian-Chinese draft document, introduced at the 2014 disarmament conference in Geneva, as a basis.
To stabilize the situation during a period when a multilateral document on non-militarization of space is being developed, Lavrov invited countries to join a Russian-promoted multilateral initiative on making a political commitment not to be the first to place weapons in outer space.
Russia Calls for Talks on Binding Treaty to Ban Weapons Deployment in Space
(April 11, 2021) — Moscow [Russia], April 12 (ANI/Sputnik): Russia calls for talks to create a legally binding international instrument that would ban the deployment of any type of weapons in space, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s historic space flight.
The anniversary of the first Soviet cosmonaut’s flight, which marked the beginning of the space era, is celebrated every year in Russia as Cosmonautics Day on April 12. On the same day, the world marks the International Day of Human Space Flight.
“We consistently believe that only guaranteed prevention of an arms race in space will make it possible to use it for creative purposes, for the benefit of the entire mankind. We call for negotiations on the development of an international legally binding instrument that would prohibit the deployment of any types of weapons there, as well as the use of force or the threat of force,” Lavrov said in a video message on the anniversary of the first manned space flight.
The minister offered to take as a basis a relevant Russian-Chinese draft treaty submitted to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva in 2014.
To stabilize the situation during a period when a multilateral document on non-militarization of space is being developed, Lavrov invited countries to join a Russian-promoted multilateral initiative on making a political commitment not to be the first to place weapons in outer space.
The top Russian diplomat noted that some 30 countries have become full-fledged participants in the initiative.
Lavrov also emphasized that space cooperation should remain one of the most important aspects of the international agenda.
“Over the past decades, Russia, as a leader in space exploration, has provided assistance to a number of states in launching cosmonauts into orbit. At the UN Outer Space Committee, we are maintaining a consistent stance to ensure equal access of states to outer space and its conservation for future generations,” the Russian foreign minister said.
Lavrov stressed that Russia’s Yuri Gagarin, who became the first man in space, made a huge contribution to the development of humankind and demonstrated Russians’ ability to effectively resolve the most difficult tasks at hand. He continues to inspire people across the world in their most honorable and ambitious aspirations, Lavrov said.
On April 12, 1961, Gagarin pronounced his famous “Poyekhali!” (Let’s Go!) as the Vostok spacecraft lifted off the ground, taking the first person ever to space.
In 2011, the UN General Assembly declared April 12 as the International Day of Human Space Flight.
Russia Calls for Treaty Banning Weapons from Space
Lavrov Calls for Talks on Binding Treaty to Prohibit Weapons in Space
(April 13, 2021) — Russia has called for talks to create a legally binding international instrument that would ban the deployment of any type of weapons in space, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s historic space flight.
The anniversary of the first Soviet cosmonaut’s flight, marking the beginning of humanity’s space era, is celebrated every year in Russia as Cosmonautics Day on April 12. On the same day, the world marks the International Day of Human Space Flight.
“We consistently believe that only a guaranteed prevention of an arms race in space will make it possible to use it for creative purposes, for the benefit of the entire mankind. We call for negotiations on the development of an international legally binding instrument that would prohibit the deployment of any types of weapons there, as well as the use of force or the threat of force,” Lavrov said in a video message on the anniversary of the first manned space flight.
The minister offered to use as a basis a relevant Russian-Chinese draft treaty submitted in 2014 to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
To stabilize the situation during a period when a multilateral document on non-militarization of space is being developed, Lavrov invited countries to join a Russian-promoted multilateral initiative on making a political commitment to avoid being the first entity to place weapons in orbit around Earth.
The top Russian diplomat noted that some 30 countries are full-fledged participants in the initiative.
Lavrov also emphasized that space cooperation should remain one of the most important aspects of the international agenda.
“Over the past decades, Russia, as a leader in space exploration, has provided assistance to a number of states in launching cosmonauts into orbit. At the UN Outer Space Committee, we are maintaining a consistent stance to ensure equal access of states to outer space and its conservation for future generations,” the Russian foreign minister said.
Lavrov stressed that Russia’s Yuri Gagarin, who became the first person in space, made a huge contribution to the development of humanity and demonstrated Russia’s ability to effectively resolve the most difficult tasks. His memory continues to inspire people across the world in their honorable and ambitious aspirations, Lavrov said.
On April 12, 1961, Gagarin pronounced his famous “Poyekhali!” (“Let’s Go!”) as the Vostok spacecraft lifted off the ground, taking the first human to space.
In 2011, the UN General Assembly declared April 12 the International Day of Human Space Flight.
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