The US wants to broaden cooperation and collaboration with India in space technology, particularly as it relates to militarisation of the 'final frontier' to deny common adversaries such as China, Major General Brian W Gibson, the strategy chief of the US Space Command, told NDTV.
In Delhi to meet top military and space agency officials, General Gibson red-flagged Beijing's space programme, saying, "China is advancing at a breathtaking pace in the military use of space tech."
"Conflict in space is not inevitable... just like every other domain. And one way we seek to deter (our enemies) is to not go it alone... we go together, we do it together. So that is my purpose here - to broaden our relationship, collaborate where we can and where we have shared interests." He adds, "I hope this is just the beginning between two space enterprises and two militaries, bilateral dialogues only increase trust since interoperability is important in space."
The reality of the world as it is today, General Gibson said, is that much of the focus is on the US and India, and the challenges the two countries face together from "potential adversaries like China". He adds "partnerships will become important to fight collective threats".
"Their advance is breathtaking... in the military aspect of space alone, let alone the commercial," he said.
Major General W Brian Gibson, Director, Strategy, Plans and Policy, US Space Command, and ISRO chief Dr S Somanath participate in the India Space Conclave 3.0 in New Delhi
To deepen cooperation, the US Space Command signed agreements with at least two Indian startups Dhruva Space Pvt Ltd and Digantara to share open source data to help these startups get a fillip as they develop their technologies.
General Gibson said "India observed the US Space Command's Global Sentinel exercise in February 2024 and will participate in the exercise in 2025". The exercise is designed to improve the ability of allied forces to monitor space and cooperate.
The General's visit to Delhi - which experts say signals a major shift in Washington DC's space command policy - comes on the heels of Donald Trump's big win in this week's election.
Mr Trump beat his Democrat rival, outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris, in the 2024 US presidential election and will, in January, be installed as the 47th President of the United States. General Gibson's words of warning - i.e China - are not a new development.
In September last year, the US Space Force - the US military's space service established during Mr Trump's first term - said it had internal discussions about a 'hotline' to prevent space crises.
The comments came as the Space Force looked into establishing a Japan branch; this was in response to China's continuing military ambitions in the Indo-Pacific and the Ukraine war.
The Space Force's commander, General Chance Saltzman, told Reuters then that close cooperation with "like-minded countries" would be crucial in being able to monitor and understand activity in the space domain, and to deter China and counter 'grey zone activities' like jamming satellite signals.
Further back, in 2022, the then Commander of the US Space Command, General James H Dickinson, said China is building facilities that could put most of his country's space assets at risk.
General Gibson says the motto of the US Space Command is 'never a day without space' and America seeks to ensure "responsible, safe, sustainable use of space", adding "India's journey has just begun and India is ready as the stars are waiting, India has the capacity and will to succeed".
