India on Wednesday assured the world that it did not violate any international treaty or understanding with the anti-satellite (A-SAT) missile testing of Wednesday.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India believes in peaceful use of the common outer space that belongs to humanity. “India is not in violation of any international law or treaty to which it is a party or any national obligation,” stated the MEA, answering a set of questions after DRDO scientists carried out an A-SAT test.
MEA argued in favour of creating substantive legal measures to prevent weapons race in the outer space. India supported UNGA resolution 69/32 which is intended to prevent placement of weapons in the outer space. Significantly the A-SAT test comes ahead of the annual meeting of the Legal Subcommittee of the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) during 1-12 April which will be held in Vienna under the auspices of the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). India has been participating in all meetings of the UNCOPUOS.
The Ministry said the A-SAT test was not directed against any country and that India plans to play a role in future in drafting global laws on prevention of arms race in outer space. MEA reiterated India’s support of Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) in the Conference on Disarmament “where it has been on the agenda since 1982.”
“India believes that outer space is the common heritage of humankind and it is the responsibility of all space-faring nations to preserve and promote the benefits flowing from advances made in space technology and its applications for all,” the Ministry of External Affairs said revealing that the satellite that was destroyed in the testing was a low earth orbit Indian satellite whose debris will perish while falling through the atmosphere in the next few weeks. Strategic affairs commentator Uday Bhaskar has said that the issue of debris from such tests shows the urgency for a global agreement to designate the Outer Space as a zone of peace belonging to the humanity.
Responding to India’s statement, Pakistan has called upon countries to address the gaps in international laws so that no country can threaten peaceful application of space technology. “We hope that countries which have in the past strongly condemned demonstration of similar capabilities by others will be prepared to work towards developing international instruments to prevent military threats relating to outer space,” MoFA Spokesperson said in Islamabad.
