United Nations, Oct 21 — Amid growing risks from weaponisation of outer space, India has urged the adoption of a comprehensive legally-binding treaty to outlaw armaments there.
“India reiterates its preference for a legally binding instrument, one that is universally acceptable, verifiable and multilaterally negotiated”, Rajya Sabha member Sudha Murty said on Tuesday.
Suggesting a comprehensive approach to such a treaty, she said, “India notes that threats to the safety, security and sustainability of outer space, the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation, and the threshold for what constitutes a use of force in outer space must all be considered together”.
“A selective focus on some threats over others would be counterproductive”, she added.
She said the forum for negotiating the treaty should be the UN's Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament.
Murty, wife of tech giant Infosys funder Narayan Murty and mother-in-law of former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is a member of the second contingent of MPs joining India's UN delegation.
Underlining the need for action, she noted that “dual-use space technologies and assets are now a reality”.
At least one country, the US, has admitted to putting armaments in space.
US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said earlier this month that his country has deployed “on-orbit space control weapons” but did not disclose what they were.
Murty said, “A difference of opinion continues on approaches to preventing an arms race in outer space (or PAROS), and on which approach should take priority”.
“We take a note of the draft treaty on the prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space as a basis for further discussion”, she said.
Formerly known as the Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force against Outer Space Objects (PPWT) draft was introduced by China and Russia in 2008.
It has been opposed mainly by the US, which asserted it was vague, did not address threats from Earth-based anti-satellite systems, and that its system for verification is inadequate.
The US and Japan introduced a resolution in the Security Council in 2024 on preventing nuclear weapons in space, but it was vetoed by Russia.
While “India is open to universal and non-discriminatory, non-binding norms and transparency and confidence-building measures”, Murty said, “these can complement and, but not substitute for, a legally binding instrument”.