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Australia urged to encourage responsible global behaviour in space race

Australia needs to avoid adding to a global “race to the bottom” over military ambitions in space, amid concerns that the major powers are seeking to dominate space, according to a new report.

The Australian defence force is setting up a space division at the Royal Australian Air Force headquarters in Canberra early next year, with the government planning to spend $7bn on space capabilities over the next decade. The government has also launched an Australian Space Agency.

Dr Cassandra Steer, a senior lecturer at the Australian National University’s college of law who specialises in space law, said space was “a critical strategic domain for Australia’s civilian and military interests” but was “increasingly congested, contested and competitive”.

She said major powers were engaged in “a destabilising space arms race”, with China, Russia and the US rejecting the strategic restraint that had kept space a stable political and military domain.

In a policy options paper published by the ANU’s national security college today, Steer said Australia could act as a “middle space power” and encourage responsible behaviour in space. She argued Australian leaders should “avoid inadvertently contributing to escalatory rhetoric”. That meant avoiding descriptions of space as a “warfighting domain” or a “battlespace”:


Australia needs to be careful that, as it develops sovereign space capabilities, it does not accelerate a global strategic race to the bottom. Rather, Australia should focus on its ability to become an effective diplomatic space power – building on our history as a strong contributor to space technologies and arms control norms.

The paper calls on the government to invest in space literacy training across the Australian public service and for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to appoint a “space ambassador” with a dedicated team to influence the space agenda internationally.

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source: theguardian.com