U.S. Tells U.N. Conference on Disarmament It Seeks Stability in Space

At a meeting of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament (CD) Tuesday, the State Department began implementing President Obama’s new U.S. space policy, highlighting its emphasis on stability in space.

Frank Rose of the State Department contrasted the Obama policy with that of the Bush Administration saying “in a departure from the 2006 policy, the new National Space Policy also states that the United States will consider space-related arms control concepts and proposals that meet the criteria of equitability and effective verifiability, and which enhance the national security of the United States and its allies.”

Rose added: “let me reaffirm that the United States continues to support the inclusion of a non-negotiating, or discussion, mandate in any CD program of work under the agenda item, ‘Prevention of an Arms Race in Space,’ known as PAROS. This was the basis of a compromise reached at the CD in May 2009.”

The speech outlined for the 65 member countries of the CD the major thrusts of the new Obama policy focusing on its emphasis on international cooperation, debris mitigation and space situational awareness, and its call for transparency and confidence building measures (TCBMs). A major tenet of the Obama policy is that space has become vital to the interests of most countries in the world and all must work together to ensure that space remains a usable environment.