Session

Rethinking Nuclear Disarmament in Asia-Pacific

Time
14:00 ~ 15:20
Organization
East Asia Foundation
Room
C
Seventy years after Hiroshima, and with the Cold War over, Asia-Pacific has evolved into the global epicenter of nuclear threats arising from a chain of perceived existential security threats. Asia is the only continent where the number of nuclear warheads is increasing, and this is true of all four nuclear-armed states: China, DPRK, India, and Pakistan. Managing those threats, including the ensuing nuclear dimension, has been essentially bilateral, but all regional partners are impacted. Raising awareness of the threats remains important but needs a channel for action. The relevant regional mechanisms include the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the East Asia Forum (EAF). Do these mechanisms need to be made to work better, or are others required, or should we continue to focus on bilateral efforts?