Research On The Application Of The Right Of Self-defense In Outer Space

While the world is experiencing profound shifts unseen in a century,military use of outer space has become increasingly common and the arms race in outer space has intensified.Outer space,after land,sea,air and cyberspace,has become a new potential place for armed conflict.This requires a timely response from the international law.In response to this situation,this dissertation discusses the basic concepts and general applying rules of the right to self-defense,whether the general rules of self-defense can be applied to the outer space,and how it can be used in outer space.Chapter one defines the specific meaning and scope of the right of self-defense in the context of international law.As a special exception to the prohibition of the use of force,the scope of the self-defense shall be considerably restricted.This chapter focuses on the analysis of conditions and restrictions on the exercise of the right to self-defense,namely the occurrence of “armed attack”,the time and scope of exercise.The second chapter analyzes the necessity of applying the right of self-defense to outer space.At present,the trend of militarization and weaponization of outer space is becoming increasingly prominent.However,the existing mechanism of outer space has huge deficiencies in maintaining peace and security in outer space.Although the international community has made relevant efforts to this end,it is still difficult to reach an agreement on the establishment of a new mechanism and deal with the increasingly intensified international security threats.Therefore,in order to safeguard the national interests of all countries and maintain the international security balance,it is necessary to apply the right of self-defense to outer space.Chapter three analyzes the feasibility of applying the right of self-defense to outer space.This chapter first analyzes the objections to the right of self-defense in outer space.Then,by analyzing the general rules of self-defense,cases of the International Court of Justice,and theories of scholars of public international law,it is concluded that the application of the right of self-defense to outer space is legally feasible.After determining the applicability of international humanitarian law to outer space,Chapter four discusses how to apply the rule of self-defense to outer space.In general,the presence of armed attack is the precondition for a country to take self-defense actions in outer space.To this end,the thesis specifically introduces the forms of use of force in outer space,and discusses under what circumstances the use of different types of outer space weapons constitutes the use of force,and under what circumstances it constitutes armed attack to trigger the exercise of self-defense.At the same time,the article also discusses the timing of the self-defense in outer space.Meanwhile,the special exercise requirements that caused by the dual-use of space objects and the particularity of the outer space environment,namely the principle of necessity,proportionality and distinction,have been also discussed.Considering that the application of the right to self-defense in outer space will inevitably have an impact on China’s space activities and military use,the thesis finally put forward China’s proper position and countermeasures.On the one hand,China should further strengthen the theoretical research on “Community with a Shared Future for Mankind of Outer Space”,and actively use the various international cooperation platforms to participate in the international discussion and legislative activities in the field of outer space.On the other hand,China should evaluate the legality of China’s outer space activities in accordance with relevant rules of international law,and improve the defense and anti-interference capabilities of the outer space equipment.