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Introduction
“The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in the race for space.”
– a quote from the former President of the United States – John F. Kennedy – on the US’s national space effort in 1962 that might best describe the early stage of the space race between the US and the Soviet Union. (Kennedy, 1962)
Since the first space race ended sixty years ago, there has been a lot of international cooperation in space, as well as greater competition in this being developed, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies, for instance, artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D printing. These technologies benefit not only our lives on Earth but also our exploration of space by decreasing the cost of development and increasing the capabilities of each exploration mission (Signé & Dooley, 2023).
Technological advancements are, without a doubt, a central benefit of cross-national collaboration. Asia and Europe now collaborate extensively in space exploration (Deutsche Welle, 2024). The launch included scientists, diplomats, and state agency officials from France, Italy, Pakistan, and the European Space Agency (ESA), who played roles in the mission. For instance, a team from the French Institute of Astrophysics and Planetology developed a radon detector (Cui, 2024), which could help scientists understand the surface environment of the moon and design the equipment (such as robotics) for future missions (Xin, 2024).
Given the increasing significance of space-related cooperation in recent years, this article aims to assess the background of space cooperation in Asia (China, Japan, and India), Europe (the European Union), and the impacts and challenges of space collaboration on Asia-Europe relations.
Space Cooperation in Europe
Space cooperation, like other international cooperation, gathers resources from participating states to build space infrastructure and make full use of the benefits derived from space applications (Du, 2014).
For Europe, during the post-Cold War era, space was not a priority to invest in and develop. However, with the growing geopolitical tension over the past decades, the European states have begun to pay attention to the area from a security perspective (Loss & Samorè, 2023). In 1975, five years after the first international space mission between the US and the Soviet Union, Apollo-Soyuz (Royal Museum Greenwich, n.d.), the European Space Agency was established to foster coordination of space activities between the European Union (EU) and their respective Member States (European Space Agency, 2007) to increase the competitiveness of Europe in space exploration. (European Space Agency, 2016).
Apart from ESA, which focuses on the design and development of technical elements of the EU space programmes (Foust, 2021), the EU also has its agency to oversee the space activities of the EU – the European Union Agency for the Space Program (EUSPA). Established in 2004, the EUSPA has initiated space programmes such as the Earth observation mission, Copernicus, and the satellite navigation mission, Galileo (Bellescize, 2023). It aims to contribute to the sustainable growth, security, and safety of the EU. It relies on international cooperation among the EU organs, Member States, and private actors in the EU (European Union Agency for the Space Programme, n.d.).
Though having different roles in the European space-related programmes, in their missions and objectives, the space programmes and the cooperation initiated by Europe sought to establish a cross-national framework that involved both public and private actors in ensuring the programmes could be of collective interest. However, the uniqueness of the EU is a double-blade sword to European space programmes. On the one hand, it helped its Member States work together to create and carry out the programs and promote scientific research throughout the European Union On the other hand, each Member State has its space programmes and objectives, which might result in difficulties in resource distribution, for instance, the support to the private space industry (Henriquet, 2023). When there is a rise in demand for various space exploration programmes (such as orbital and satellite launch missions), the challenges to space governance, as well as to the coordination among Member States and other states, might increase (Evroux, 2022).
The Space Cooperation in Asia
Space collaboration in Asia has differed from the European model. Two of the most iconic space cooperation initiatives in Asia are the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) and the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF). APSCO, founded in 2005 and active in 2008, is an intergovernmental organization led by and headquartered in China with 7 Member States from regions such as the Middle East, South America, and Southeast Asia. APRSAF, led by Japan, was established in 1993 to facilitate space activities in the Asia-Pacific region (UNDRR, n.d.). Both initiatives represent the regional influence of China and Japan with a lens from outer space (Robinson & Evrard, 2012).
Figure 1
Figure 1
Koop (2022) via Visualcapitalist.com
Therefore, one of the distinct differences between the Asian and European space cooperation is that the Asian one is not only an intra-continental cooperation, but they are developing an outward network. Among the top 10 countries that have launched the most significant number of objects into space in 2022, China (#3), Japan (#5), and India (#7) have launched cumulatively over 1,000 objects (as shown in Figure 1), making them significant actors of the future of space exploration. Although the three Asian states are sufficiently robust to challenge the old international space order from the Cold War, there is less cooperation between them, especially regarding joint space missions. Most times, the cooperation was initiated with a non-Asian state or organization. For example, the EU-China, EU-India, and EU-Japan summits are held regularly for discussion and potential collaboration in various aspects.
The Asia-Europe Space Cooperation
Considering the nature of space cooperation in Asia as previously described, the collaboration between Europe and Asian countries in this article is built on a one-to-one basis, which will be illustrated as follows.
China
Since 1980, a cooperation agreement between China and the ESA has been signed to foster scientific exchange, including cooperation in space. In 2003, China launched a research satellite developed in part by the European Space Agency, which marked the first joint space mission between the two continents (Lindsey, 2003).
Throughout the past two decades, China has poured resources into its space programmes. In addition to the Chang’e example, China built and launched its space station, Tiangong, in 2021 (Deutsche Welle, 2021). Moreover, China has launched different space missions to the Moon and Mars. Besides scientific collaboration, China and the EU cooperated in other space-related areas, such as personnel training, astronaut training, and sea survival training (Waidelich, 2023). Furthermore, China has created a new aerospace force in its military, which showcases its dedication to security and development in space (Goswami, 2024).
Despite the plenteous achievements China has in space development, its cooperation with the EU is under a cloud of suspicion. There is still a scientific collaboration between the ESA and China or between European countries and China. For instance, a Chinese-made satellite was shipped to the ESA in 2023, and scientists from China and Europe assembled to conduct tests, aiming for a joint space mission in 2025 (Xin, 2023).
However, in 2023, the ESA announced that it had no plan to send astronauts to Tiangong due to several concerns (Jones, 2023). For example, in recent years, European states have raised concerns about China’s human rights and technology security. Moreover, the competition between China and the US is also a factor to be considered, as well as their different stance in international conflicts (such as the wars in Ukraine) which affect the future collaboration and relations between China and other countries.
India
Since its Chandrayaan mission in 2008, India’s progress in space development has been fast. It was the first country to land a spacecraft near the lunar south pole and has set plans for human spaceflight programmes for 2030 and 2035 (Beaurepaire, 2023).
The cooperation between India and Europe dates back to the 1960s, a critical factor for the launch of the Indian space programme. A significant part of its programmes was focused on the applications of space technologies such as telemedicine, education, and broadcasting (Beaurepaire, 2023). Apart from state-to-state cooperation between India and European states such as France, Germany, and Spain, India also established a longstanding relationship with ESA, the EU, and other European space initiatives (Aliberti, et al., 2019).
In 2023, India introduced the Indian Space Policy aims to let loose its private sector to foster cooperation with other countries that are active in the space sector (India News Network, 2024), such as Luxembourg, which is at the forefront of encouraging space-related innovation (Bhandari, 2022).
India has prioritized its space programs more recently than it did previously. Aside from the influence of its neighbours, such as China, which emerged as a great space power in recent years and has established various space-related international collaborations, there might be a security need for India to increase investment in its programmes for civilian, commercial, and military purposes (Stroikos, 2022). Space programmes could also strengthen India’s influence within and beyond the international space sector (Stroikos, 2023). In addition, space programmes could also bring internal benefits. For example, space programmes are essential to national pride and prestige. Investments in the programmes could increase cohesiveness among nationals and retain talents in space-related industries (Stroikos, 2023).
According to the EU-India Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025, the EU will set up a working group with India for comprehensive space collaboration, such as Earth observation, satellite navigation, and space science, and to explore the opportunities for cooperation in space-related matters (European Union, 2020). Both sides might gain from future cooperation, notwithstanding the EU's concerns about India-Russia relations, India's recent democratic backslide (Tripathi, 2023), and India's continued observation of EU-China relations (Crabtree & Reuter, 2024).
Japan
Since both countries belonged to the US bloc in the Cold War, cooperation between the EU (mainly Western Europe) and Japan started at the beginning of the post-Cold War era. As neither country can rely only on its security, the mutual coordination grew stronger after the war. For example, the rise of China, the instability in Russia, and the weakening of the US-led global order became the reasons for the cooperation (Atanassova-Cornelis & Singh, 2021).
Figure 2
Benefits from this historical background, similar to India, Japan has established bilateral cooperation with European countries such as France (Rocher, 2024), Italy (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, 2023), and Luxembourg (Luxembourg Space Agency, 2024), as well as organizational collaboration in space exploration, Earth observation, industry-to-industry cooperation, and space security (Robinson, 2012). For example, in 2023, the EU and Japan signed a cooperation arrangement to share satellite data for planet observation purposes (Defence Industry Europe, 2023) and the ongoing cooperation of the Galileo and the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System, a Japanese-developed satellite positioning system (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2023). Also, in 2023, Japan published its first “Space Security Initiative” (see Figure 2) with aims to strengthen national security from space, enhance space security, and foster industry innovation with its allied and like-minded countries (Baldauff, 2023).
The EU is also seeking partnerships with Asian states like Japan and South Korea in areas such as security and defence (Reuters, 2024). It is evident from the EU-Japan relationship and Japan's Space Security Initiative that they both saw each other as partners with similar space-related goals.
Conclusion
Competition and cooperation have become a dynamic feature of the bilateral relations between Asian and European states as space has become necessary as a strategic domain. Their collaboration has been bolstered by scientific research, technology development, satellite navigation, earth observation, and space exploration.
Particularly, the cooperation between the EU and China, India, and Japan has encompassed various areas, which have been illustrated through this article. Their collaboration is not only about scientific and technological advancement but also a lens through which we can understand their international relations. In recent years, space cooperation has become a platform for fostering diplomatic ties, promoting knowledge exchanges, and hence, strengthening mutual understanding between states. While challenges and differences may exist, the space cooperation between Asia and Europe remains strong.
Space continues to captivate our imagination and beckons us to explore further. Space cooperation between Asia and Europe will be more critical; as we can see from Figure 1, among the top 10 states that can launch objects into space, 7 of them are from Asia or Europe, showcasing the capabilities of the advanced economies in Asia. However, there are still challenges for these parties to collaborate in space. For example, the increasing geopolitical tension in outer space with several states has established their space force, for instance, China, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom, which might signal a new arms race between global powers.
It is important to note that the increasing state-to-state tension between China and the Western World. Such tension would become one of the most considerable barriers to establishing collaboration, even though both sides are technologically advanced in space exploration and research. Moreover, from the technical perspective, experimenting with technologies in space is already a challenging mission for every state. Not to mention how would the emerging technologies influence the international relations on Earth, in terms of the commercialisation and militarisation of those technologies. Furthermore, there are not sufficient actors in Eurasia for space cooperation. Apart from the parties in this article and Russia, many countries in this continent, especially the Asian side, still need time and resources to collaborate with the existing powers in space—for example, countries from Central Asia, South Asia, and the Caucasus. If there are more capable parties in space development, they could be a pivotal actor to leverage the geopolitical risks for the EU and the three Asian states in this article when considering a partnership.
Though facing geopolitical tensions and economic and development disparities, as space has evolved as a vital field in various aspects, such as technological advancements and national security, the EU, China, Japan, and India are shaping the future of space exploration and collaboration.
By joining forces, Asian and European states can leverage their expertise, resources, and technological advancements to push scientific boundaries and reach for and beyond the stars.
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