International Legal Agreements Relevant to Space Weapons

International Legal Agreements Relevant to Space Weapons

 

The military utility of space has long been recognized and exploited. In fact, the reconnaissance, navigation, and communications functions of space assets are critical to war-making and peacekeeping missions of the US military. However, states have so far resisted positioning destructive weapons in space or intentionally destroying the space assets of other states. Recent policy and planning documents of the United States suggest that strategic control of space is a priority of the current administration and that anti-satellite weapons are an important component of this plan. Also, the administration's national missile defense (NMD) agenda includes space-based NMD systems, which will likely be useful ASAT systems as well.

Strong and almost unanimous opposition to weaponization of space has been expressed in the United Nations Conference on Disarmament. China and Russia have drafted text for a treaty to ban space weapons. The United States, however, has refused to enter negotiations on such a treaty.

It is likely that the weaponization of space will begin in the foreseeable future unless it is hindered by organized, effective international opposition or the current US administration is replaced by an administration willing to cancel projects for weaponization of space in the face of considerable opposition from domestic proponents of weaponization.

Although no comprehensive treaty about space weapons is in effect, a legal framework does exist. To help frame this opposition, we review relevant international treaties that address aspects of the space weapons issue and discuss relevant United Nations resolutions.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty

The Outer Space Treaty entered into effect in October 1967. It is the second "nonarmament" treaty (the first being the Antarctic Treaty of 1961). There is no expiration date.

The first three articles of the treaty set general principles for the use of space; the rest of the articles are intended to guide the behavior of treaty parties.

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