Via Satellite archive photo

About one year ago, the chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force spoke to attendees at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference in Maryland. General Chance Saltzman described Earth orbit as “more contested now than at any point in history.” The Space Force, he said, was “created for this new space era – an era increasingly characterized by great power competition.”

For those who have worked for years in this industry, those are scary words — because almost everything we have put into orbit is exquisitely vulnerable to attack. Yet the reverse of Gen. Saltzman’s description is also true. Great power competition makes the Earth a contested zone, and sometimes space can help us deal with it.

The South China Sea is a roughly triangular bit of ocean bordered by Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia — and China. Its 1.4 million square miles represent some of the most contested waters in the world.

In 1988, strange things started happening there. China’s Navy fired on three Vietnamese vessels, sinking them and killing 74 sailors. The dispute was over China’s claim to a group of mostly uninhabited islands far beyond its territorial waters.

But in China’s view, the entire South China Sea was its exclusive property. It made that clear in another battle with a Philippine Navy gunboat. Then everything went quiet — until years later, China began building forts and airfields on island reefs scattered across the Sea.

Strange behavior? Not to one of the most famous generals in Chinese history. Sun Tzu, born 2,500 years ago, is famous for writing a short book called The Art of War. It teaches that wars can be won without fighting battles. They can be won, for example, by taking possession of small islands and showing you are willing to fight for them — without doing much fighting at all.

Take China’s fishing boats. Hundreds of them surge out of harbors to surround disputed islands and menace US Navy and Philippine warships. They claim to be patriotic captains defending their nation’s rights in the South China Sea.  But are they?

Satellite offers a way to find out, even over a sea that is hidden by clouds for half the year. Ursa Space specializes in automated analysis of images from synthetic aperture radar, which sees through clouds and darkness. Their analysis revealed that the massed fishing boats formed what can only be called a Maritime Militia. More than 150 boats would assemble into armadas in port and set sail together to the Sea’s disputed zones. Many turned off their legally-required radio trackers, hoping to hide their trail – and in a bit of poetic justice, that made them easier for Ursa to identify as members of the Militia.

A report from the Center for Strategic & International Studies revealed that the Chinese government was paying the Militia to cover operating costs. Rather than being humble fishermen fired by zeal for their country, the captains appeared to be on the government payroll. Or as Captain Renault said in Casablanca.  “I’m shocked, shocked to find there is gambling going on in here!” — before pocketing his own winnings.

China is hardly the first nation to claim territory beyond its borders. Its Asian neighbors have claims of their own and there’s a reason why the western Pacific between Hawaii and the Philippines was known for decades as “America’s Lake.” But satellite technology and companies like Ursa Space ensure that countries trying to win wars without fighting can no longer do it out of the world’s view.

Robert Bell is executive director of Space & Satellite Professionals International.  SSPI produces the Better Satellite World campaign, which dramatizes the immense contributions of space and satellite to life on Earth.  More at www.bettersateliteworld.com.