There are currently four countries that have successfully tested anti-satellite weapons. The United States, Russia, China, and India.
If the existence of anti-satellite weapons is an existential threat to free space access, which of these four countries should dismantle their anti-satellite weapons programs? And how should that be brought about?
Edit: It should be noted that putting weapons in space is not a violation of the Outer Space Treaty[1]. Putting nuclear weapons in space would be. But, as far as I can tell, this is not a nuclear weapon. The BBC is lying through its teeth, when it claims that this is an illegal weapon.
> The Outer Space Treaty represents the basic legal framework of international space law.
> Among its principles, it bars states party to the treaty from placing weapons of mass destruction in Earth orbit, installing them on the Moon or any other celestial body, or otherwise stationing them in outer space.
> It specifically limits the use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes, and expressly prohibits their use for testing weapons of any kind, conducting military maneuvers, or establishing military bases, installations, and fortifications (Article IV).
> However, the treaty does not prohibit the placement of conventional weapons in orbit, and thus some highly destructive attack tactics, such as kinetic bombardment, are still potentially allowable.
Just a side note: The BBC article isn't about anti-satellite weapons generally. It's about a satellite that is itself an anti-satellite weapon. The key difference is that this is a weapon in orbit. Blowing up satellites is bad no matter where the weapon sits, but this is the difference relevant to treaty obligations.
> The key difference is that this is a weapon in orbit... but this is the difference relevant to treaty obligations.
Conventional weapons in orbit aren't illegal, and there are no treaty obligations that prohibit them.
The BBC either didn't do the most rudimentary research, or is engaging in misleading propaganda. (It is quite ironic to find that a subthread about Russian propaganda is rooted in a such a fundamental error of fact. We are well and truly in the post-truth era.)
