YDS 2021 in Review

Thus far twelve states have joined the US in signing: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Italy,
Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Ukraine, the United
Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. The Accords outline principles (grounded in
the Outer Space Treaty of 1967) that will “create a safe and transparent environment
in space, facilitating exploration, science, and commercial activities for all”.
It is notable that Russia has not signed the Accords. They argue the Artemis program
is “too US-centric,” and have instead chosen to partner with China to build an
international base on the moon — the International Lunar Research Station.
Although humanity initially went to space in part because of the competition
between the US and USSR, the US and Russia have cooperated with each other since
the end of the Cold War. This is most evident in the International Space Station,
which is composed of two sides: the Russian-owned Russian Orbital Segment (ROS)
and the US Orbital Segment (USOS), which is majority-owned by the US. While this
cooperation is beginning to falter as the two states have disagreed over how much
longer the ISS will need to be funded and maintained, this history of collaboration
remains significant.
On the other hand, China and the US have a long history of non-cooperation in
space, with the US maintaining a policy of excluding China from international
cooperative missions. Congress passed a provision in 2013 which requires NASA to
obtain congressional approval before partnering with China, with the Federal Bureau
of Investigation also having to certify that the cooperation will not jeopardise national
security. The intent of this was to stop China from stealing or learning from American
technology. However, the requirement reflects a broader political unwillingness from
both Democrats and Republicans to cooperate with China — arguably Washington’s
greatest adversary. Nevertheless, such policies of exclusion have not stymied China’s
technological advances. Rather, they appear to have created an incentive for China to
build an alternative coalition for space exploration that could undermine America’s
traditional leadership in this arena.
At the same time that the US has seen a decline in public interest and funding for
space pursuits, China has made significant leaps in their space-oriented scientific and
technological capabilities. It is clear that US officials are highly concerned about
China’s technological advancements. Not only does space hold great potential for the
discovery of new resources, the establishment of human settlements, and
opportunities for power projection, the technology required to do so also serves a
secondary purpose as a source of weaponry in potential conflicts. These concerns
from US officials have led to the framing of China’s progress in space as a new space
race. However, this is yet to be determined. What can be said is that taking such a
confrontational view may be short-sighted and increase tensions between the two
competing states.
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