India, Nov. 3 -- No country owns the Moon. The powers that shape the rules of space may find that they do not need to. On October 23, China published its position paper on space governance as a bid for influence over those rules. India had already signed the US-led Artemis Accords in June 2023. New Delhi must now weigh Beijing's proposals against its existing commitments, while preserving choices it may need as its capabilities grow.

Much of the legal framework governing space was written decades ago. Commercial ventures and new technologies are now testing how those rules apply to activities at a scale their authors could barely have imagined. Whether this leads to new agreements or disputes over existing ones, India should prepare for ...