Outer space looms as the next frontier of potential weapons proliferation. Countries in Asia are well on their way to developing the capabilities that would lay the groundwork for future conflict beyond Earth. It remains to be seen whether a host of tensions that mark relations among nations in the region will spill over into space. In this special video by the Asia Pacific Leadership Network (APLN), Dr. Namrata Goswami examines the space power capabilities of the major regional powers, and particularly those of China and India – the two big space powers in Asia – and their space capacities (civilian, military and commercial). It assesses the prospects of proliferation of space warfare capabilities, the institutional and legal regimes and constraints on space weaponization, worst-case militarization scenarios, and pathways for demilitarizing space.

Dr. Goswami argues that China, India, Japan, DPRK, Australia, and Pakistan are countries to watch for advances in space-capable weapons systems. China, India, and Japan in particular are major space-faring nations with independent capacities to launch into space, and ambitions for space settlement and space resource utilization.

Read her full special report here: https://www.apln.network/projects/wmd-project/status-of-existing-and-emerging-asia-pacific-space-powers-capabilities

Video Editor: David Slepcevic