NASA Chief Warned China May Try to Claim the Moon. That’s Unlikely.

Subject :Science and Tech

Section : Space

Context:

Some Chinese officials and government documents have expressed intentions to build a permanent, crewed International Lunar Research Station by 2027
In 2019, China became the first country to land a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, even as China and Russia announced joint plans to reach the lunar south pole by 2026

What the International space law says

The Outer Space Treaty, adopted in 1967 and signed by 134 countries, including China, explicitly states that “Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means” (Article II).
While no country can claim ownership of the Moon, Article I of the Outer Space Treaty allows any state to explore and use outer space and celestial bodies.

Other mission to moon

The US-led Artemis Accords is a group of 20 countries that has plans to return humans to the Moon by 2025, which will include the establishment of a research station on the lunar surface and a supporting space station in orbit called the ‘Gateway‘ with a planned launch in November 2024
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working on the Chandrayaan-3
The Chandrayaan-3 mission is a follow-up of Chandrayaan-2 of July 2019, which aimed to land a rover on the lunar South Pole.
The subsequent failure of the Vikram lander led to the pursuit of another mission to demonstrate the landing capabilities needed for the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission proposed in partnership with Japan for 2024.
It will have an orbiter and a landing module. However, this orbiter won’t be loaded with scientific instruments like the Chandrayaan-2.
Its job will only be confined to carry the lander to the moon, oversee the landing from its orbit and communicate between the lander and the earth station.

Concerns

Even if no country can legally claim sovereignty over the Moon, it is possible that China, or any other country, would attempt to gradually establish de facto control over strategically important areas through a strategy known as “salami slicing.”

What is salami slicing?

This practice involves taking small, incremental steps to achieve a big change: Individually, those steps do not warrant a strong response, but their cumulative effect adds up to significant developments and increased control.
China has recently been using this strategy in the South and East China seas. Still, such a strategy takes time and can be addressed.