By Kazuto Suzuki,
On March 12, the leaders of Quad – Japan, US, India and Australia – met for the initial summit meeting. Although the Quad is not based on treaty or legally binding documents, it existed due to the fact 2006 as a framework for cooperation at their comfort. However, the value of the Quad framework became more vital than ever. Counterbalancing the presence of China in the Indo-Pacific area notwithstanding, restoring the leadership of the United States beneath the Biden Administration via Quad framework would give more possibilities for other 3 nations to tackle worldwide concerns such as fight against pandemic and securing provide chains.
Although space was not particularly talked about in the joint statement, named “the spirit of the Quad”, the cooperation amongst Quad states on creating and operating space infrastructure is vital for attaining its objectives. From Japanese viewpoint, Japan would be in a position to provide strategic assets for enhancing the cooperation amongst Quad states. First, as it is placed in a strategic position of Western Pacific and East Asia, hunting more than China and sharing the exact same latitude with Australia, the geostationary position more than Japan is hugely precious in the Quad. The communication satellites in geostationary orbit would provide wider coverage of Indo-Pacific area. Weather satellites (Himawari) have views from Hawaii to the Bay of Bengal. Such geostrategic areas of Japan would provide intense value in the context of Quad. This is also correct for Quasi-Zenith orbit. The Quasi-Zenith Satellite Systems (QZSS) would provide signal complementary GPS more than Japan and Australia.
Second, the Quad would be an best group for monitoring movements in orbit. Space Situational Awareness demands radar and telescopes all more than the globe. Japan will provide a view in the gap amongst Hawaii and Diego Garcia exactly where US Deep Space Network radars are positioned. Australia also offers very important information and facts on the view in the southern hemisphere. The function of Quad is extremely vital for filling the gap of US monitoring capabilities.
Perhaps the most vital function Japan would play in the Quad is to provide mission assurance for other partners. Since the ASAT test in 2007, the vulnerability of the space method has develop into a big concern for the US and its allies. Space became very important infrastructure for military operation, such as drone operation or missile guidance method. If space assets are targeted by the hostile attack, it would undermine operational capabilities of US and allied forces. Such vulnerability is of intense concern for Japan due to the fact Japanese military capabilities rely heavily on that of the US due to its constitutional constraints. Thus, Japanese government has created a notion of mission assurance, in which strengthening the resilience of space assets of Japan and allies would contribute to assure the continuation of mission of these assets.
The Quad will play an vital function for the notion of mission assurance. Not only Japan but also India has a substantial fleet of Earth Observation satellites and its personal navigation satellites. Australia, even though it is in the method of establishing totally capable space systems, would also play an vital function for supplying space communications capabilities. The vital point is that the Quad shares the exact same issues for the vulnerability of space assets and understanding the value of mission assurance. It would also share the threat and threat that if the conflict amongst China and US escalated, their space assets could also be the target of ASAT attack.
Finally, Quad has a extremely vital function to play in the international rulemaking method. Given the complicated international atmosphere for creating consensus for space governance, Quad would provide a beginning point for creating up a little multilateral regime with nations that share the exact same values and objectives for establishing international guidelines. It is in particular vital to set up international guidelines for Space Traffic Management (STM) which would avoid accidental and intentional collision with space debris. Once the guidelines are established and all the operators are conducting their organizations according to the rule, it becomes a typical practice for debris removal. All it requires is to set up a rule with states which are capable of conducting such operations and getting stakes in such activities.
Quad states possess technologies, intentions, values and capabilities for shaping international order. If Quad does not play its function, China would be the mover and shaker of the international method, which may well permit Chinese leadership to shape the globe friendlier to authoritarian regimes. If Quad does not act, we will be forced to play with the guidelines that do not match to our values.
(The author is Professor of Science and Technology Policy, Graduate School of Public Policy, The University of Tokyo. Email: [email protected] Views expressed are private and do not reflect the official position or policy of the TheSpuzz Online.)