Open Skies Treaty

A country can undertake aerial imaging over the host State after giving notice 72 hours before, and sharing its exact flight path 24 hours before.

United States formally withdraws from Open Skies treaty. The agreement allows the 34 party nations to conduct aerial reconnaissance over eachothers’ territory. Let’s read more about the treaty…

First proposed in 1955 by former US President Dwight Eisenhower as a means to deescalate tensions during the Cold War, the landmark Open Skies Treaty (OST) was eventually signed in 1992 between NATO members and former Warsaw Pact countries following the demise of the Soviet Union. It went into effect in 2002 and currently has 34 signatories along with one non-ratifying member (Kyrgyzstan).

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‘Spying’ on host nations

The OST aims at building confidence among members through mutual openness, thus reducing the chances of accidental war. Under the treaty, a member State can “spy” on any part of the host nation, with the latter’s consent.

A country can undertake aerial imaging over the host State after giving notice 72 hours before, and sharing its exact flight path 24 hours before.

The information gathered, such as on troop movements, military exercises and missile deployments, has to be shared with all member States. Only approved imaging equipment is permitted on the surveillance flights, and officials from the host state can also stay on board throughout the planned journey.

Open Skies Treaty: The US’s withdrawal

While it was envisaged as a key arms control agreement, many in Washington had for over a decade accused Russia of non-compliance with OST protocols, blaming Moscow of obstructing surveillance flights on its territory, while misusing its own missions for gathering key tactical data.

Russia has denied the allegations and warned that the withdrawal will affect the interests of all of participating countries. However, Russia intended to fully follow all the rights and obligations under the treaty as long as the treaty is in force.

Significance of the treaty

The OST was signed in 1992, much before the advent of advanced satellite imaging technology which is currently the preferred mode for intelligence gathering.

Since only the US has an extensive military satellite infrastructure, other NATO members would have to rely on Washington to obtain classified satellite data, which would be more difficult to obtain compared to OST surveillance records that have to be shared with all members as a treaty obligation.

Key points

• OST was signed in 1992 and came into effect in 2002.
• It is an agreement that allows its 34 signatories countries to monitor arm development by conducting surveillance flights (unarmed) over each other’s territories.
• The treaty established an aerial surveillance system for its participants.
• Both US and Russia are signatories of the treaty.
• India is not a member of this treaty.

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