APLN Policy Brief 26

The following is a summary. Click on the adjacent link to download the full brief.

Strategic nuclear competition is on the rise in the Asia Pacific. In response, as was the case in Europe during the Cold War, dialogue has developed, slowly but steadily, between key players. Today it is most developed between the United States and its Asian allies, notably between the United States and Japan and the United States and South Korea, where much progress has been made in recent years. There is still considerable scope for enhancement, however, as well as opportunities to launch new processes involving Australia. This is the focus of this paper, while its companion will explore the dialogues currently in place, developing or desired with/between the Asia–Pacific’s four nuclear-armed states: China, India, Pakistan and North Korea.

About the Author

David Santoro is director and senior fellow for nuclear policy at the Pacific Forum, Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he specializes in strategic and deterrence issues as well as non-proliferation and nuclear security, with a regional focus on Asia–Pacific and Europe. Before joining the Pacific Forum CSIS, he worked on nuclear policy in France, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. He has also been a visiting fellow at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation and a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at the Institute for International Strategic Studies in London. You can follow him on Twitter at @DavidSantoro1.

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