as well as an increase in the US military presence in the region in an evolution that
reminds many of the Cold War period
4
after WWII.
This does not automatically mean that Asia is moving towards a renewed version of the past century’s confrontation between two global superpowers. In a
way, there are now even some conditions for international cooperation in space
exploration with China. New scientific missions could be jointly pursued, and
even western astronauts could in the long term fly onboard the future Chinese
space station, as ESA is planning.
5
Nevertheless, before eventually cooperating, superpowers generally go through
a period of conflict wherein each one must affirm their geopolitical role on the
global stage. This is what is happening now in the Asia-Pacific area. One of the
most media-driven arenas in this confrontation will be space exploration, which
has always been a tool for geopolitical ambitions. “There are nets above and snares
below, so that a person has no place to flee”. This visionary aphorism is one of the
first sentences in the book Unrestricted Warfare,
6
written in 1999 by two colonels
of the Chinese army, Liang Qiao and Xiangsui Wang. The book has since become
a reference text for all western military analysts. It contained forward-looking
predictions on future asymmetric conflicts typical of global terrorism, such as the
one that happened in New York City just two years after its publication.
Additionally, the authors prophetically explained how the trade globalization process was increasingly integrating with the financial world. According to them, this
happened thanks to a military technological revolution whose foundations were
laid with the first Gulf War: “After that conflict, modern life and warfare itself
changed. We are not referring to changes in the tools, technology, methods or
forms of warfare. What we mean is its function itself: new, total, limitless and
unrestricted”.
7
Nowadays, the nets are truly above us. Fleets of drones and satellites ensure
global communications and observe the whole planet. All of them use modern
technologies previously developed for military purposes, which nowadays are
fully integrated within our modern financial, industrial, logistic and economic
infrastructures. The strategic importance of space networks is such that the US
seeks to impose global rules of use
8
in order to defend its own national security
4
Tellis, Ashley J., Alison Szalwinski, and Michael Wills. 2017. Strategic Asia 2017-18: Power,
Ideas, and Military Strategy in the Asia-Pacific. National Bureau of Asian Research of Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace.
5
Bergquist, Karl 2018. European Space Agency and China Relations. European Space Policy
Institute.
6
Qiao, Liang and Xiangsui Wang. 2004. Unrestricted Warfare: China’s Master Plan to Destroy
America. Filament’s Books Inc.
7
Idem
8
US National Space Policy. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspd/space.html.
102 Battlestar Galactica: The Space Cyberwar of the Future
reminds many of the Cold War period
4
after WWII.
This does not automatically mean that Asia is moving towards a renewed version of the past century’s confrontation between two global superpowers. In a
way, there are now even some conditions for international cooperation in space
exploration with China. New scientific missions could be jointly pursued, and
even western astronauts could in the long term fly onboard the future Chinese
space station, as ESA is planning.
5
Nevertheless, before eventually cooperating, superpowers generally go through
a period of conflict wherein each one must affirm their geopolitical role on the
global stage. This is what is happening now in the Asia-Pacific area. One of the
most media-driven arenas in this confrontation will be space exploration, which
has always been a tool for geopolitical ambitions. “There are nets above and snares
below, so that a person has no place to flee”. This visionary aphorism is one of the
first sentences in the book Unrestricted Warfare,
6
written in 1999 by two colonels
of the Chinese army, Liang Qiao and Xiangsui Wang. The book has since become
a reference text for all western military analysts. It contained forward-looking
predictions on future asymmetric conflicts typical of global terrorism, such as the
one that happened in New York City just two years after its publication.
Additionally, the authors prophetically explained how the trade globalization process was increasingly integrating with the financial world. According to them, this
happened thanks to a military technological revolution whose foundations were
laid with the first Gulf War: “After that conflict, modern life and warfare itself
changed. We are not referring to changes in the tools, technology, methods or
forms of warfare. What we mean is its function itself: new, total, limitless and
unrestricted”.
7
Nowadays, the nets are truly above us. Fleets of drones and satellites ensure
global communications and observe the whole planet. All of them use modern
technologies previously developed for military purposes, which nowadays are
fully integrated within our modern financial, industrial, logistic and economic
infrastructures. The strategic importance of space networks is such that the US
seeks to impose global rules of use
8
in order to defend its own national security
4
Tellis, Ashley J., Alison Szalwinski, and Michael Wills. 2017. Strategic Asia 2017-18: Power,
Ideas, and Military Strategy in the Asia-Pacific. National Bureau of Asian Research of Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace.
5
Bergquist, Karl 2018. European Space Agency and China Relations. European Space Policy
Institute.
6
Qiao, Liang and Xiangsui Wang. 2004. Unrestricted Warfare: China’s Master Plan to Destroy
America. Filament’s Books Inc.
7
Idem
8
US National Space Policy. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspd/space.html.
102 Battlestar Galactica: The Space Cyberwar of the Future