India and Pakistan today decided to move forward on proposals to extend two key agreements on pre-notification of ballistic missile tests and reducing the risk from accidents related to nuclear weapons, diplomatic sources said.

After a long spell of barely disguised animosity, American and Chinese military chiefs are seeking to put their relations on a more cordial footing, in line with ties between their civilian bosses but experts caution not to expect too much from China in terms of transparency about their military affairs.

International databases to share information about nuclear and radioactive materials are urgently needed to help deter potential nuclear threats, according to a team of scientific and policy experts.

An editorial in the Economist argues that at a minimum, the "big spacefaring countries ought to consider negotiating some less formal rules of the road. These would seek to stop dangerous driving, maintain safe distances and, most importantly, avoid harm to each other's satellites."

Support is growing for a specific kind of multilateral space agreement that borrows heavily from the Bush administration's own preferences. The mechanism in question is a Code of Conduct for responsible spacefaring nations that could either take the form of political compacts or executive agreements among like-minded states that wish to continue to enjoy the national security and economic benefits that satellites provide.

Admiral William J. Fallon,
the chief of U.S. forces in the Pacific, urged closer military ties with China after an uncomfortably close encounter between U.S. warships and a Chinese submarine in the Pacific last month.

The U.N. Conference on Disarmament held a structured debate on the issue of the prevention of an arms race in outer space, addressing the issue of transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space.

Nearly six years after the U.S. and Russia agreed to build a joint military center in Moscow to reduce the risk of accidental nuclear war, work on the project has stalled because the two nations can't agree about taxes and legal liability.

A recent conference discussed whether the U.S. should adopt a strategy of "cooperative engagement" with possible rivals in space (ex. China, Russia, Iran), with the aim of steering these programs into directions favorable to U.S. interests.

The Henry L. Stimson Center has developed a model international Code of Conduct to prevent dangerous military activities in space. Key provisions include avoiding collisions and dangerous maneuvers in space; prohibiting simulated attacks and anti-satellite tests in space; and adopting more stringent space debris mitigation measures.