In Asia, China, Japan and India could be described as major space powers. All of them have many similarities in their space agenda, though there is little doubt that China and Japan could be said to be ahead of India by a few years in this field. India is doing well particularly in sectors like remote sensing and telecommunication, and next month launches a mission to the moon, something China has already accomplished — though a mere year back. India is also planning to send a human into space, but here again it will need a few more years. It could be argued that India is doing reasonably well in the space arena and has a robust space programme; but where India is definitely lagging behind is in the arena of defensive use of outer space. China has succeeded in deriving various military benefits out of its space programme. As Indians brag about the country’s status as a de facto nuclear weapon power, reticence about its military space programme is very puzzling, particularly when its neighbour is emerging as a major space power both in the civilian and the military sectors.

The writer researches non-standard security threats at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, Delhi express@expressindia.com