Increased Militarisation of Space - A New Realm of Security

The military use of space is not new, yet it has developed and become more advanced today.Major powers, such as the US, China, and Russia, now have their own military units specialized in space operations, indicating that space has become a new war-fighting domain.Although more nations develop and test sophisticated space capabilities, including kinetic and non-kinetic weapons, a conventional war in space is not expected.The stakes are high as the world has grown increasingly reliant on the information and connectivity that the military, civil, and commercial space systems provide, creating new realms of vulnerability.There are several weaknesses in the existing legal framework, looking at the Outer Space Treaty adopted during the Cold War.The militarization of space and developments in space technologies have resulted in growing tensions hinting at a need for new agreements to promote cooperation.So far, the UN has made several unsuccessful attempts to reach a new space treaty.Still, established in 2022 by the UN General Assembly, the Open-Ended Working Group might potentially decrease further space tensions.The group comes with a change in focus, as it has stepped away from the stalemate in discussing a new treaty on space weapons and moved towards a focus on non-binding norms, rules, and responsible behavior.