Naval rearmament will allow Beijing to defend itself if attacked or to reach
Africa or South America and protect its oil supply convoys from Iran and Oman.
Nowadays, over 12 million barrels heading for China pass through the Strait of
Malacca every day. But the Chinese are far from being able to withstand a direct
confrontation with the US fleet. Certainly, China will develop innovative marine
and underwater combat technologies precisely to bridge the numerical gap in
naval armaments. This could in a certain sense favour Washington’s strategy to
push for a new rearmament race in order to increase Beijing’s military spending,
and in parallel to start a trade war with duties and customs barriers to curb its
relentless economy.
57
The ambitious Chinese space exploration program aims to launch crewed orbiting outposts in Earth orbit, hundreds of satellites and several interplanetary probes.
It is already causing changes across the Asian region that were unthinkable until a
few years ago.
Japan, for example, has modified its constitutional order dating back to the sixties to build space-based military systems and strengthen its national security. In
2008, the Japanese House of Representatives enacted a special law, called Basic
Space Law, to provide a legal framework for Japan to engage in space development and further its national security interests, such as building and launching spy
and early-warning satellites. Nine years later, the Prime Minister presented an
amendment to the constitution that enabled Japanese armed forces to employ air,
naval and space systems for attack purposes.
58
In 2012, the Upper House of Japan’s
Diet passed legislation that moved the space agency JAXA’s political control from
the Ministry of Education and Research to a newly created Space Strategy Office
within the Prime Minister’s cabinet.
59
In a few years, Tokyo completely changed
its policy for space exploration, making it primarily a strategic tool
60
and no longer
just a scientific one. On the day of the historic meeting in Singapore between
President Trump and the Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, JAXA launched its sixth
spy satellite, Information Gathering Satellite (IGS). This has been a true revolution in Tokyo’s geopolitical policy, and it was clearly impacted by both Chinese
rearmament and the growing North Korean threat.
Within the Asian region, the influence of India must not be neglected. India is
militarily powerful, has nuclear weapons and has developed an autonomous and
valuable aerospace industry. The nation has been pursuing its own space
57
China’s Gross Domestic Product was estimated at + 6.5% by the World Bank in 2018. http://
www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overview.
5 8
h t t p s : / / w w w . r e u t e r s . c o m / a r t i c l e / u s - j a p a n - c o n s t i t u t i o n - a b e /
japans-abe-to-push-for-constitution-reform-before-year-end-media-idUSKBN19G01F.
59
https://spacenews.com/japan-passes-overhaul-space-management-structure/.
60
Kallander, Paul. 2016. Japan New Dual-Use Space Policy: The Long Road to the 21st
Century. Institut Francais des Relations Internationales.
78 Technopolitics of Space Between History and Realpolitik
Africa or South America and protect its oil supply convoys from Iran and Oman.
Nowadays, over 12 million barrels heading for China pass through the Strait of
Malacca every day. But the Chinese are far from being able to withstand a direct
confrontation with the US fleet. Certainly, China will develop innovative marine
and underwater combat technologies precisely to bridge the numerical gap in
naval armaments. This could in a certain sense favour Washington’s strategy to
push for a new rearmament race in order to increase Beijing’s military spending,
and in parallel to start a trade war with duties and customs barriers to curb its
relentless economy.
57
The ambitious Chinese space exploration program aims to launch crewed orbiting outposts in Earth orbit, hundreds of satellites and several interplanetary probes.
It is already causing changes across the Asian region that were unthinkable until a
few years ago.
Japan, for example, has modified its constitutional order dating back to the sixties to build space-based military systems and strengthen its national security. In
2008, the Japanese House of Representatives enacted a special law, called Basic
Space Law, to provide a legal framework for Japan to engage in space development and further its national security interests, such as building and launching spy
and early-warning satellites. Nine years later, the Prime Minister presented an
amendment to the constitution that enabled Japanese armed forces to employ air,
naval and space systems for attack purposes.
58
In 2012, the Upper House of Japan’s
Diet passed legislation that moved the space agency JAXA’s political control from
the Ministry of Education and Research to a newly created Space Strategy Office
within the Prime Minister’s cabinet.
59
In a few years, Tokyo completely changed
its policy for space exploration, making it primarily a strategic tool
60
and no longer
just a scientific one. On the day of the historic meeting in Singapore between
President Trump and the Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, JAXA launched its sixth
spy satellite, Information Gathering Satellite (IGS). This has been a true revolution in Tokyo’s geopolitical policy, and it was clearly impacted by both Chinese
rearmament and the growing North Korean threat.
Within the Asian region, the influence of India must not be neglected. India is
militarily powerful, has nuclear weapons and has developed an autonomous and
valuable aerospace industry. The nation has been pursuing its own space
57
China’s Gross Domestic Product was estimated at + 6.5% by the World Bank in 2018. http://
www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overview.
5 8
h t t p s : / / w w w . r e u t e r s . c o m / a r t i c l e / u s - j a p a n - c o n s t i t u t i o n - a b e /
japans-abe-to-push-for-constitution-reform-before-year-end-media-idUSKBN19G01F.
59
https://spacenews.com/japan-passes-overhaul-space-management-structure/.
60
Kallander, Paul. 2016. Japan New Dual-Use Space Policy: The Long Road to the 21st
Century. Institut Francais des Relations Internationales.
78 Technopolitics of Space Between History and Realpolitik