ISLAMABAD – The increasing competition for space-related power and prestigein Asia has echoes of the Cold War space race of the mid-20th century. In1961, John F. Kennedy, a young, charismatic leader determined to land a manon the moon, had just taken the oath of office in the United States; theSoviet Union put the first man in space; and in Pakistan, world renownedphysicist Abdul Salam was convincing President Ayub Khan to set up anational space agency, which was considered to be the first in thesubcontinent.
In September of the same year, Salam started the Space and Upper AtmosphereResearch Commission (SUPARCO)linkinKarachi, eight years before India formalized its own space agency, theIndian Space Research Organization (ISRO). After that, four top scientistsfrom Pakistan were sent to United States for training at NASA. Salam’sgrowing eminence in the scientific worldlinkwonhim accolades. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979, whichbecame a beacon to attract young talents to Pakistan’s space organization.
In 1962, Pakistan became the third Asian country to launch rockets. Thatyear, SUPARCO launched its first rocket, Rehbar I, from the Karachi coastwith help from NASA just before India launched its first rocket from Thumbalaunching station. Despite this headstart, today SUPARCO is a long waybehind ISROlink due topoor education funding and military leadership interfering in scientificgoals.
SUPARCO soon moved its focus to the atomic bomb project, taking keyresources and scientists away from space endeavors. But the most drasticfall in the Pakistani space program came between the 1980s and 1990s, whenthen-President Zia-ul-Haq cut off the funding to major projects such as thecommunication satellite program. After that, military generals were madeleaders in the organization, replacing scientists,linkthe new focus was on countering India through conventional and nuclearacquisitions. That left little funds to take on some of Pakistan’s moreambitious space projects. By contrast, ISRO launched its firstcommunication satellite in 1981, started technology sharing programs withmany countries, and in 1988 unveiled a remote sensing satellite system,which is now the largest in the world. Pakistan, meanwhile, only launchedits first satellite, Badr I, in 1990 with the assistance of the Chinese.
Later, the Chinese Ministry of Aerospace Industry and SUPARCO signed anagreement in 1991linkonspace cooperation, but for decades they had little to show for it. Spacecooperation between China and Pakistan focused mainly on “personneltraining and infrastructure development” for the next 20 years.
In 2005 China started the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization(APSCO) with Bangladesh, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru, Thailand, andTurkey. The convention was signed in Beijing. The focus of the organizationislink“topromote and strengthen the development of collaborative space programsamong its member states by establishing the basis for cooperation inpeaceful applications of space science and technology.” APSCO is consideredthe second largest intergovernmental and multilateral space organizationafter the European Space Agency. Iran is expected to soon expandcollaboration with APSCO and join two of its existing projects.
In 2011, as part of Pakistan’s Space Program 2040, the Chinese-manufacturedPAKSAT-1R, an upgraded version of PAKSAT-1, was launched in China.PAKSAT-1R was a milestone in China-Pakistan space ties. The satellite has alifespan of 15 years, during which time it will provide communicationservices across South and Central Asia, Eastern Europe, East Africa, andEast Asia.
The two countries also signed a 2012-2020 roadmap for space cooperationbetween SUPARCO and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) in 2012.During Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Beijing in 2018, bothcountries agreedto move forwardlinkwiththat agreement. As part of their joint collaboration on space missions,Pakistan has expressed its willingness to send a Pakistani astronaut intospace on a Chinese spacecraft. At the AirTech conference in December 2017,linkChief Marshal Sohail Aman stated that Pakistan would send astronauts intospace with China’s help by 2020. China has also successfully launched tworemote sensing satellites for its “all-weather” friend Pakistan. And inApril 2019 China and Pakistan signed an agreement on space exploration,which marks a new phase in space science cooperation between theall-weather allies.ADVERTISEMENT
China has proposed building a “Space Silk Road” to virtually enhance itsBelt and Road Initiative (BRI), including the linchpin China-PakistanEconomic Corridor, into a three-dimensional (space, land, and water)super-project. In the Space Silk Road, China’s Beidou satellites would helpwith navigation from submarines to aircraft and will connect all the BRIcountries. Pakistan also requested China’s participation in the developmentof the Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS). PRSS-1, launched in 2018,is considered yet another flagship project for China-Pakistan relations.
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The bilateral association between the two countries in space has opened newvistas of socioeconomic and scientific cooperation, which gives a boost totheir historically cordial bilateral relations in other fields. Pakistan’sspace program is set to benefit greatly from China’s advancedtechnology. Accordingto a Pakistan-based development analyst,linkof China’s space technology will help Pakistan achieve progress in both thedefense and economic spheres.
In the 21st century, space technology is essential for socioeconomicdevelopment, infrastructure upgrades, agricultural production, and urbanplanning. Providing developing countries with assistance in space programshas long been a part of China’s geopolitical ambition in order to establishhegemony in the South Asia region. China doesn’t benefit technologicallyfrom Pakistan, given the mismatch in their capabilities, but Beijingconsiders space cooperation as an opportunity to expand its soft power.
India shares borders with both China and Pakistan and has unresolved borderdisputes with both as well. All three nations have nuclear capabilities anda significant inventory of missiles. With its recent anti-satellite missiletest, “Mission Shakti,” India became the fourth country in the world —after the United States, Russia, and China — to acquire the strategiccapacity to shoot down enemy satellites, placing India in the exclusiveclub of space superpowers. In light of that, China has urged all countriesto keep outer space for peace and cooperation.link
India has also been one of the major contributors to the Outer SpaceTreaty, which was put in place by the United Nations in order to ensurestates used space for peaceful purposes. India’s space program has beenused for civilian purposes and emphasizes developing space systems thatoffer social, scientific, and economic benefits. With the privatization ofthe Indian space industry, India has witnessed the rise of startups likeTeam Indus, Bellatrix Aerospace, and Astrome Technologies, which areplanning to bring out their own space-based products and services. TheSpace Activities bill 2017, which is still pending in the Indianparliament, was put forth to encourage both the public and private sectorsto participate in the space program.
In 2019, India launched the 2,230-kg GSAT-9 “South Asia Satellitelink” in order to build goodwill inthe region and to counter Chinese influence but archrival Pakistan backedout of what was supposed to be a pan-SAARC (South Asian Association forRegional Cooperation) project. When India first suggested the idea,Pakistan offered money and assistance but New Delhi said it would bear allthe costs as a “gift” to the Indian subcontinent. Pakistan then refused toparticipate. According to a spokesperson from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry,“as India was not willing to develop the project on a collaborative basis,it was not possible for Pakistan to support it as a regional project underthe umbrella of SAARC.”
With the inclusion of India and Pakistan in both the Shanghai CooperationOrganization (SCO) and SAARC, these South Asian countries have a majorpositive role to play in space rather than countering each other. If Indiaand Pakistan follow a path of confrontation on future space projects, itwill only deepen the cooperation between Pakistan and China. – The Diplomat
*Preethi Amaresh is an Indian author who is pursuing her Ph.D. inInternational Relations at the Geneva School of Diplomacy, Switzerland*
