Call for Joint Space Exercise between India&US

08 Sep 2022 Call for Joint Space Exercise between India&US

News: India and the U.S. recently undertook   joint military drills in October in Auli, Uttarakhand. Now, the time is ripe for the inaugural India-U.S. joint space military exercise.

GS Paper 3 : Security Challenges.

Military Space programmes all over the world: Every country worth its weight in salt is working on the military aspects of space. 

• Under the  Department of the Air Force U.S. inaugurated its  independent space force branch.
• ASTERX was France’s  first space military exercise.
• Cis-Lunar space (region beyond the geosynchronous orbit) is China ‘s project to establish a permanent presence on the Moon by 2024.
• Evolution of Space doctrine countries are laying down rules and norms. Example: Draft binding treaty released by China and Russia.

Indian Policy response towards militarisation of space:

• Mission Shakti or  an anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• IndSpaceX:  India’s simulated space warfare exercise keeping Chinese threats in mind.
• Formation of tri-service Defence Space Agency (DSA):  separating military from  civil space of satellites.
• Creation of Defence Space Research Agency (DSRA) for  development of  space-based weapons .
•  Now, Space  recognised military domain similar to other  domain such  as land, water, air and cyber.

Need for Joint Space Exercise: 

• India and US will enter into  new orbit of defence partnership:  Already in Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) Space has been singled out as a critical area of cooperation between two countries.
• Joint Space will send strong message to a common adversary i.e China.
• Provide way forward  for the wider Quad (Australia, India, Japan, and the United States).
• New theatre for  Indo-U.S. military collaboration forward as militarisation of  of space is happening  at faster pace than expected.
• To counter “world-class” Chinese military  doctrine India-US need to  to innovate on doctrines, technologies and deterrence. 
• Time for protection of space as it is  bedrock of the modern economy — Global Positioning System or GPS (PNT — position navigation timing), telecom networks, early warning systems for missiles and weather forecasts.

 Issues that may arise due to India -US joint space exercise:

• Eastern neighbour China may got provoked and may  utilize  our western neighbour i.e. Pakistan  as a proxy state. 
• Core Commanders dialogue in Ladakh with China may get derailed .
•  United States is not a trusted partner as witnessed in Afghanistan, Vietnam war etc.
• Militarisation of space will get fasttracked.

Way Forward:

• First step in India – U.S.A partnership is  joint anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test as both countries have demonstrated their capability in this.
• Move to  other space military collaborations such as directed energy weapons, rendezvous and proximity operations (RPOs), co-orbital ASATs (in space micro satellites as a kinetic kill option),etc.

Conclusion: Time has come to move India-U.S. military collaboration  from mountains to outer heavens.

Source:

The Hindu:- https://bit.ly/3Ddeqaj ; Author: Vinayak Dalmia, Vrinda Kapoor

Yojna IAS Daily current affairs eng med 8th Sep

khushhal chauhan