Outer space has increased its importance economically, politically and strategically, as symbolized by China’s rapidly expanding space capability and the US military’s establishment of the Space Force. Due to its unique nature, international relations of outer space involves different dynamics to that of geopolitics. Unanswered questions on how to secure outer space and how to interpret space-related activities cause anxiety and speculation. One such anxiety is China’s space-related activities along with the Belt and Road Initiative, because military-related state owned enterprises are leading these activities. After discussing the current state and challenges of international relations in outer space, the presentation will explain China’s BRI-Spatial Information Corridor, and share the findings from our preliminary risk assessment of the BRI-SIC projects.
Dr. Fumiko Sasaki, is currently a visiting scholar at the Reischauer Center, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, where she earned her Ph.D. She teaches East Asian Security for School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University and has taught various courses at graduate schools at Columbia University including the Earth Institute.
Mr. Neil Pedreira received a Masters of Social Work from School of Social Work at Columbia University in April 2021. He has a B.A. from UC Berkeley. As of now, his personal research involves the use of communication technologies and blockchain technologies in the development space.
