Author Topic: How Plausible is Chinese Annexation of Territory on the Moon?  (Read 22598 times)

Offline Warren Platts

A gentleman's agreement is a good way to put it. Arguably, NASA's restrictions on the Apollo 17 site are also a gentleman's agreement. It doesn't really have the force of international law, yet everybody is going to voluntarily respect it.

As for the size of the "EEZ" 15 nm would be big enough to lock up Whipple Crater, but it wouldn't leave China in possession of a monopoly in the north polar region. So why not think big? They could argue that anybody else would be free to set up shop on the South Side and declare their own 200 nm EEZ. That could be how it happens: e.g., USA would take the Shackleton Basin in the South and claim everything down to the 80th parallel same as the Chinese in the north. Meanwhile, other actors might go for the equatorial region: not much hydrogen, but you can still make LOX; you could use Al for the fuel if you wanted. Find a big PGM asteroid body, and you could be in business. So people might be persuaded to at least not object strenuously because they all would have the opportunity to claim a piece of the pie.
"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."--Leonardo Da Vinci

Offline spectre9

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Australia claimed Antarctica and was then able stop it being exploited to preserve it's natural beauty allowing all the citizens of the world and future generations to enjoy it.

Yeah.. sure we did.


Does this post need one of these?  ::)

I support preserving Antarctica, hopefully it remains pristine for at least the next few generations.

The moon on the other hand isn't a wildlife reserve. People should do what they like there.

Offline QuantumG

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Yep.. when Australia makes a stand there's only one question the international community asks: you and who's aircraft carrier? :)
Human spaceflight is basically just LARPing now.

Offline spectre9

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I guess the thing with the moon is a small country like Australia will never have the ability to claim it.

I do think there will be treaties for resource sharing and China isn't in the space race to go it alone.

They just want to prove they're up to the same level as Russia/ESA/JAXA before starting to ramp up their international cooperation.

As an Aussie I don't demonise China at all. I love our Asian neighbours.

In a recent speech in Darwin Obama told us all about the growing threat from China in south east Asia. I'm not sure he realised that nobody bought a word of it.

Americans might be scared of China but we're right next door to them. We're trying to be friends.

Offline JohnFornaro

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(1) I guess the thing with the moon is a small country like Australia will never have the ability to claim it.

...

(2) In a recent speech in Darwin Obama told us all about the growing threat from China in south east Asia. I'm not sure he realised that nobody bought a word of it.

...

(1)  Well, Andorra's economy is 80% tourism per Wiki, which is a higher percentage than Australia's.  Since tourism is pretty much the only "industry" in space at the moment, I think they have a pretty good chance of claiming the Moon and making the claim stick.

(2)  Tell that to Vietnam and the Phillipines.  The Aussie's didn't invite Mr. Obama to speak on a lark.  Any Aussie naysaying in pubs and what have you, on the South non-China Sea issue, is an example of conceptual blindness and informal group think. 

Which doesn't mean that I can foresee China's various global and extra-global intentions.
Sometimes I just flat out don't get it.

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