Space Cooperation in Asia: a Myth

摘要

Due to the historical complexities and political rivalries in Asia, the establishment of a civil space cooperation organization similar to ESA is a goal too ambitious to be realized in the near future. There are two distinct cooperation mechanisms in Asia, APSCO and APRSAF, and another emerging one led by India under the framework of SAARC. The coexistence of these sub-regional organizations and forums has been largely articulated under the theme of Asian space race. This article examines the outcome and limitations of these initiatives, taking into account of the pursuit of regional leadership by China, Japan and India. It explores the interaction among these initiatives from two aspects: dual membership of several states, and communications between APSCO and APRSAF. This paper concludes that whilst it is unfeasible to integrate an institutional cooperation framework with a non-institutional one into the presumed regional organization, more efforts should be made to enhance the communication among these initiatives so as to avoid the sub-regionalization and fragmentation of space cooperation in this region.