Gonzaga Debate Institute 2011 Mercury China Coop Aff
Relations Low Now – ASATs
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- Relations Low Now – ASATs
Relations Low Now – ASATsChina’s ASAT testing produces space debris that threatens the ISS and hurts its international cooperation Hitchens, Director of World Security Institute’s Center for Defense, 2007 (Theresa, “U.S.-Sino Relations in Space: From ‘War of Words’ to Cold War in Space?” China Security, p. 13-14, Winter, http://www.chinasecurity.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=186, Accessed June 30, 2011, NS) What Response Did the Test Elicit from the International Community? Following the test, Britain, Australia, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, India, South Korea and the European Union joined the United States in protesting and calling upon Beijing for consultations – and while China has said it has fulfilled those calls, diplomats from the protesting nations disagree. A Canadian diplomat said that the three démarches made by Canada (at the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa, the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, and China’s representation office to the United Nations in Geneva) have yet been unanswered. Indeed, diplomats are widely bemoaning the lack of communication and transparency regarding the test. Further, considering that Kelso and other space tracking experts say that the latest debris information is showing that at least 51 pieces of the 517 now identified are likely to pass very close (within 10 kilometers) to the International Space Station,31 international concern is only likely to rise rather than fall. Heiner Klinkrad, head of the European Space Agency’s space debris office in Darmstadt, Germany, said (even before the most recent debris catalog release): “Destroying a satellite at this altitude, in sun-synchronous orbit, presents a debris problem about as serious as you can get” and speculated that some debris could remain on orbit for hundreds of years.32 Kelso also pointed out that it is “what we don’t know” with regard to the amount of smaller debris that is the real issue of concern. Relations Low Now – ASATsASAT testing cuts China out of the international sphere – misconduct Hitchens, Director of World Security Institute’s Center for Defense, 2007 (Theresa, “U.S.-Sino Relations in Space: From ‘War of Words’ to Cold War in Space?” China Security, p. 13-14, Winter, http://www.chinasecurity.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=186, Accessed June 30, 2011, NS) Because China technically broke no laws, it is hard to imagine that direct economic sanctions are likely to be forthcoming in the near-term. But charges that it is not fully abiding by its responsibilities under the Outer Space Treaty are likely to result in political repercussions. Certainly, Beijing’s position regarding a weapons ban treaty in the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, and its stature in the Committee for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in Vienna, are likely to be seriously undercut. Furthermore, rumors are already circulating that a number of international space meetings scheduled to take place this year in Beijing – such as the April meeting of the Inter-Agency Debris Coordination Committee and the February meeting of the debris subcommittee of the International Standards Organization – may be moved to another locale in protest of the ASAT test. While isolating China on space issues is likely to cause more harm than good, some sort of near-term, short-lived punitive action may be called for in order to demonstrate to the Chinese leadership both the gravity of their misconduct and the fact that the international community is not “toothless” in responding to irresponsible space actors. The more interesting question is what affect, if any, the damage to China’s reputation as a responsible space actor will have on its long-term relationships with its current (and potential) civil and commercial space partners – particularly in Europe. According to China’s White Paper on space, Beijing has a substantial amount of cooperation underway: “Over the past five years, China has signed cooperation agreements on the peaceful use of outer space and space project cooperation agreements with Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Ukraine, the [European Space Agency] and the European Commission, and has established space cooperation subcommittee or joint commission mechanisms with Brazil, France, Russia and Ukraine. It has signed space cooperation memorandums with space organizations of India and Britain, and has conducted exchanges with space-related bodies of Algeria, Chile, Germany, Italy, Japan, Peru and the United States.” Further, “In October 2005, the representatives of China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru and Thailand signed the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) Convention in Beijing, and in June 2006 Turkey signed the Convention as well. APSCO will be headquartered in Beijing.”36 And in December 2004, China signed a contract for its first satellite export: it will build and launch a telecommunications satellite for Nigeria.37 For many developing nations, China is likely to continue to be a partner of choice due to China’s eagerness and low prices for launch and satellite production. Likewise, Russia, which has already dedicated itself to cooperation with China on lunar exploration,38 seems to be viewing Sino-Russian space cooperation as yet another tool in a geopolitical game to counterweight to the United States. Therefore, Russian-Chinese space cooperation is more likely to increase than decrease, despite the ASAT test. However, the situation may be different in Europe – where questions about the wisdom of cooperation with China already have been raised for both security and competitive reasons. China’s early participation in the development of the European Union’s Galileo navigation, positioning and timing network has already run into trouble for other reasons, including Europe’s refusal to allow Beijing access to its encrypted signal and China’s decision to pursue its own similar satellite network.39 The U.S. government has further already expressed concern to the U.K. government regarding China’s cooperation with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. on the development of Earth observation satellites, including the Disaster Monitoring Constellation that includes Britain’s National Space Center as well as the Nigerian, Algerian and Turkish equivalents.40 China’s ASAT test might serve as a spur for Europe to distance Russia seems to be viewing Sino-Russian space cooperation as yet another tool in a geopolitical game to counterweight to the United States. 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