US hosts Space Conference of the Americas to enhance space cooperation and interoperability with Allies

Americas, News, US February 8, 2024 , by IRIA No Comments

The United States Southern Command hosted the annual Space Conference of the Americas 2024 to discuss ways to advance space cooperation and enhance interoperability with North and South American allies.

The third annual space conference was attended by participants from ten partner states, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. Officials of the U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Space Command also participated in the conference held in Miami.

According to the Pentagon statement, the conference was crucial for the U.S. and its partners in the Western Hemisphere to address the centrality of space.

The commander of the U.S. Southern Command, Army Gen. Laura J. Richardson said, “We must think big. The enemy is not waiting for us to think big and move out. They are moving out each and every day in your countries. And we’ve got to do it faster. And we’ve got to be working overtime because our adversaries wake up each and every day trying to figure out how they’re going to do an end run around us.”

The U.S. is a leading advocate for the responsible use of #space. During this week’s Space Conference of the Americas, @DeptofDefense space leaders worked w/counterparts from 11 W. Hemisphere nations to strengthen partnerships that benefit the region. @US_SpaceCom @WHAAsstSecty pic.twitter.com/3EGHJ06Dhl
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) February 1, 2024

U.S. Army General Laura Richardson highlighted that the conference provides an opportunity to advance space cooperation and said “This is what the power of partnership is. This is how we move mountains. This is how we move planets. This is how we move forward in a domain that is so important.”

The American general stressed the importance of the space domain and urged the allies to move partnership to the next level and work together. “Space is key to many earth-bound capabilities important throughout the hemisphere. Maintaining space capabilities matters not only to military purposes, but to telecommunications, economic, research and navigation needs,” the Pentagon statement added.

U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert D. Davis said that given the complex world situation, “cooperation in the hemisphere is not merely a choice, but an absolute necessity.”

Brig. Gen. Davis further added, “Our competitors and our adversaries seek to exploit our perceived weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the space domain,” he told the conference attendees. “This jeopardizes our respective nations’ ability to protect and project national power; deter and counter aggression; and accomplish our objectives.”

*^{Space Conference of the Americas on advancing hemispheric space cooperation and establishing norms for responsible behavior in space. (Image Credit: Twitter/@Southcom)}*

U.S. Southern Command’s director of operations, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Thomas G. Allan Jr. said “We identified several bilateral and multilateral opportunities, including increasing participation in Exercise Global Sentinel; concluding additional Space Situational Awareness Data Sharing agreements; and developing a common space doctrine to enhance interoperability.”

Rear Adm. Allan Jr. highlighted the importance of building a combined strategy and said, “There needs to be a strategy governing the use of space in the hemisphere.”

The director of plans and policy at U.S. Space Command, Army Maj. Gen. Brian W. Gibson also attended the conference and urged the participants to take action and jointly make plans as well as to work out systems and procedures in the space domain. He said, “If we don’t approach common interests together, when we are faced with the reality that we must [work together], we likely won’t do it as well.”