75^th Session of the UNGA

First Committee

Explanation of Vote of India

on Draft Resolutions under “Outer Space” Cluster

6 November 2020 

L.45: Reducing Space Threats through norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviours

As a major spacefaring nation, India has vital developmental and security interests in space. India remains opposed to the weaponisation of outer space. India has not, and will not, resort to any arms race in outer space. India has been a consistent advocate of preserving the outer space as a common heritage of humankind. We remain committed to maintaining outer space as an ever-expanding frontier for cooperative endeavours of all space faring nations.

India continues to support substantive consideration of the prevention of an arms race in outer space within the multilateral framework of the UN. We remain committed to negotiation of a legally-binding instrument on PAROS to be negotiated in the CD. While not a substitute for legally binding instruments, TCBMs can play a useful and complementary role to legally-binding instruments. India has been an active participant in the GGE on PAROS, which concluded its session in March 2019. 

India has been voting in favour of all resolutions submitted under the Outer Space cluster. However, we were constrained to abstain on L.45. While we share with the United Kingdom and other sponsors, the objective of reducing space threats, we believe that the resolution does not address the key issue of preventing arms race in outer space through a universally acceptable and multilaterally negotiated legally binding instrument on PAROS. 

Furthermore, the resolution introduces a number of subjective elements, including responsible and irresponsible behavior, characterisation and interpretation of behavior as well as perception of threats, which further complicates our task at hand. We believe that this resolution deflects and takes us further away from the objective of preventing an arms race in outer space, which continues to be a priority for the international community. We have abstained on some preambular and operative paragraphs for the same reason.

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L.62: No First Placement of Weapons in Outer Space

India has voted in favour of L.62 on the No First Placement of Weapons in Outer Space. The resolution states that the legal regime applicable to outer space needs to be consolidated and reinforced. India supports this objective as well as strengthening of the international legal regime to protect and preserve access to space for all and to prevent, without exceptions, the weaponization of outer space. We support the substantive consideration of PAROS in the CD. We see No First Placement of weapons in outer space as a useful initiative and not a substitute for substantive legal measures to ensure the prevention of an arms race in outer space. 

We have voted against PP5 of this resolution due to the inclusion of the phrase “a community of shared future for humankind”. This phrase is part of a political ideology and a resolution of the UNGA is not the appropriate place to reflect ideologies of countries.

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