Accelerating Asia-Pacific Space Economies Through Regional Partnerships

Abstract

Many Asia-Pacific countries have grown their outer space industries in recent years, resulting in a spectrum of space economies at differing levels of maturity across the region with potential complementarities that could catalyze further development of this crucial sector. This article highlights several key takeaways from a recent virtual event on "Accelerating Asia-Pacific Space Economies Through Regional Partnerships: Challenges, Opportunities, and Best Practices.” First, as commercial interests are increasingly driving space development, states are articulating distinct space strategies to try to facilitate innovation by the private sector while also protecting their own national security interests. Second, while there are promising opportunities for cooperation among states and between the public and private sectors, there is still much work to be done in establishing shared rules, norms, and standards of behavior. Third, dynamics in the outer space domain are strongly shaped by the broader context of geopolitical competition among states, which presents challenges to some kinds of collaboration and highlights the need to build trust among multiple stakeholders.