The US Golden Dome project risks triggering a dangerous arms race in space, pushing rivals to escalate military build-ups.
The new arms race of the world’s military powers, wittingly or unwittingly, will undoubtedly affect us at the bottom of the arms value chain.
The best way to prevent real war is for each side to build their weapons to balance each other out. That’s a dangerous vicious cycle to hell if you consider that Russia and China will never let the US win this arms race game and will probably develop even more advanced defensive equipment as a countermeasure.
A new arms race was sparked by US President Donald Trump who, as part of the US national security strategy, announced on 20 May, the development of a multilayered missile defence system, the Golden Dome, in outer space.
This US project represents a revival of the strategic defence initiative launched in 1984 under Ronald Reagan, but later abandoned due to its prohibitively high costs.
Trump even bragged that the system would be able to intercept missiles “even if they are launched from the other side of the world”.
The launch of the Golden Dome provoked criticism from experts such as Prof Joan Johnson-Freese of the US Naval War College, who said Washington’s actions could trigger a new round of the arms race.
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She argues “if one country begins to deploy missile defence systems in space, others perceive it as a threat to their security and begin to act symmetrically”.
According to a 2024 report by the American research company Union of Concerned Scientists, the number of military satellites in orbit increased by 35% over the past five years, with more than half belonging to the United States.
The US build-up in space reflects its intention to dominate near-earth orbits, which could later allow the White House to impose its terms aggressively in international affairs.
Analysts say the Golden Dome may become a tool of pressure on Russia and China in arms limitation negotiations.
It should be noted that Brics partners have advanced alternative initiatives that support international security. Russia and China, for example, presented a draft treaty at the Geneva Conference on Disarmament in 2008, calling for the prevention of an arms race in outer space.
The draft prohibits deployment of any weapons in orbit and destruction of space objects, thereby reducing the risk of escalation and preventing outer space from becoming a battlefield.
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Continuing their efforts, Russia and China issued a joint statement on 8 May, condemning US attempts to use outer space for armed confrontation.
They emphasised that their approaches aim at strengthening global security and countering emerging threats.
The United Nations General Assembly annually reaffirms the relevance of preventing the militarisation of outer space and supports the work of the Conference on Disarmament as the main international platform for negotiations on this issue.
For Pretoria, the Golden Dome project underscores the importance of reinforcing cooperation within Brics and the African Union to resist unilateral militarisation.
From what one gets from official sources, the US initiative raises serious concerns for South Africa, which positions itself as a strong advocate of multilateral security frameworks and has consistently opposed the weaponisation of outer space within the United Nations and Brics.
South Africa’s active participation in UN disarmament resolutions and its role as host of global summits, including the G20, position the country to advocate for a legally binding treaty banning weapons in outer space.
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