90 figures from 20 countries across the Asia Pacific have endorsed a statement released by the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN). The statement follows the recent summit between Presidents Xi and Biden and the November 7th meeting of US and Chinese envoys on arms control in Washington DC.

The statement calls on the two countries to continue engaging in high-level bilateral dialogue on arms control and non-proliferation and build on recent engagement as responsible global powers.

The statement is issued in the names of the signatories and not on behalf of the APLN or its network membership as a whole. The full statement is available in English and Chinese.

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Group Statement: China-US Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

In recent years, the greatest risk to peace and security in the Asia Pacific has been the deteriorating relationship between China and the United States. Tensions have driven wedges into the relationship, and consequently, nearly every bilateral issue has become securitized.

Mistrust between China and the United States is exacerbating security dilemmas, widening the perception gap, and driving an arms race that threatens to devolve into open conflict with dire consequences for countries in this region and beyond.

Therefore we, the undersigned members of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, support the recent meeting on arms control between US Assistant Secretary Mallory Stewart and Chinese Director-General of Arms Control Sun Xiaobo, and welcome the resumption of high-level bilateral dialogue between China and the United States on arms control and non-proliferation and their joint recognition of the need to maintain communication and exchanges to build trust, manage differences, and explore cooperation.

Maintaining open and constructive communication on issues of common concern such as weapons of mass destruction and conventional arms is vital to preserving peace and security and reducing the risk of conflict.

In the urgent and shared interest of maintaining stability in the Asia-Pacific, we call on China and the United States to continue to build on these positive steps as responsible global powers.

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Chinese version

APLN关于中美军控和防扩散的联合声明

近年来，中美关系的恶化成为亚太地区和平与安全面临的最大风险。紧张的局势在两国关系中制造了裂痕，导致几乎所有双边问题都变得安全化。

中美之间的不信任正在加剧安全困境，扩大了认知差异，并推动了军备竞赛，更有可能演变为公开冲突，对该地区及全球其他国家都带来了严重后果。

因此，我们亚太核不扩散和核裁军领导网络 (APLN) 的成员联名支持美国国务院主管军控事务的助理国务卿马洛利·斯图尔特（Mallory Stewart）和中国外交部军控司司长孙晓波最近就军控问题举行的会晤，并欢迎中美两国就军控和防扩散问题恢复高级别双边对话，双方强调应保持沟通交流，以增进互信、积累共识、管控分歧、探讨合作。

在像大规模毁伤性武器和常规武器这样的共同关切问题上保持公开而建设性的沟通，对于维护和平与安全、降低冲突风险至关重要。

维护亚太地区的稳定是当务之急，也符合双方共同利益，我们呼吁中美两国作为负责任的全球大国，借助这些积极信号的势头，继续加强合作。

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Signed,

Australia

1. 1. John CARLSON, former Director General of the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office, and Senior Associate Fellow with the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network
   2. Natasha Stott DESPOJA, former Senator and Leader, Australian Democrats and Professor in the Practice of Politics, ANU
   3. Professor Hon. Gareth EVANS, former Australian Foreign Minister, Founding Convenor of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network, and Distinguished Honorary Professor at the Australian National University
   4. Trevor FINDLAY, Principal Fellow, University of Melbourne, former chair UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters
   5. Marianne HANSON, Associate Professor of International Relations, Honorary Professor, University of Queensland, and member, Asia-Pacific Leadership Network
   6. Peter HAYES, Director of the Nautilus Institute
   7. John MCCARTHY, Vice Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Melbourne, former Ambassador to Vietnam, Mexico, Thailand, the United States, Indonesia, and Japan, and High Commissioner to India
   8. Melissa PARKE, former Minister for International Development of Australia
   9. Ambassador Gary QUINLAN, former Ambassador to the UN and Australian Representative on the UN Security Council, former Ambassador to Indonesia, former Australian Senior Official to ASEAN, and former Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister on International Relations and National Security
   10. Natalie SAMBHI, Executive Director of Verve Research
   11. John TILEMANN, former diplomat and international civil servant with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and Senior Associate Fellow with the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network

Cambodia

1. 12. Charadine PICH, Deputy Executive Director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP)

China

1. 13. Professor CUI Liru, Senior Researcher at the Taihe Institute and former President of China Institute of Contemporary International Relations
   14. Lina GONG, Research Fellow with the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Programme at the Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
   15. Professor SHEN Dingli, former Executive Dean of Institute of International Studies, and former Director of Center for American Studies of Fudan University
   16. Tong ZHAO, Senior Fellow with the Nuclear Policy Program and Carnegie China at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste

1. 17. Dionisio da Costa Babo SOARES, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste

Fiji

1. 18. Professor Vijay NAIDU, Adjunct Professor Governance, Development Studies and International Affairs, School of Law and Social Sciences, University of the South Pacific, Fiji
   19. Professor Sandra TARTE, School of Law and Social Sciences, University of the South Pacific

India

1. 20. Professor Kanti BAJPAI, Director of the Centre on Asia and Globalization and Wilmar Professor of Asian Studies at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore
   21. Commodore Chitrapu Uday BHASKAR (rtd), Director of the Society for Policy Studies, New Delhi
   22. Ambassador Neelam DEO, Co-founder of the Gateway House, Global Council of World Affairs, Mumbai
   23. Lalit MANSINGH, former Foreign Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, former High Commissioner of India to the UK, Nigeria, and former Ambassador to the US
   24. Rajaram PANDA, Senior Fellow, IDSA, ICCR Chair Professor at Reitaku University, and Lok Sabha Research Fellow, Parliament of India
   25. Professor Ramamurti RAJARAMAN, Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics, School of Physical Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University
   26. Ambassador Shyam SARAN, former Foreign Secretary of india and former Chairman National Security Advisory Board; President of the India International Centre, New Delhi
   27. Manpreet SETHI, Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi and Senior Research Adviser at APLN
   28. Lt Gen. Amit SHARMA, Former Commander in Chief of India’s Strategic Forces Command
   29. Rakesh SOOD, Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, Former Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Afghanistan, France and the Conference on Disarmament, and Special Envoy of the Prime Minister for Nuclear Non-Proliferation.
   30. Air Chief Marshal (rtd) Shashindra Pal TYAGI, Former Chief of the Indian Air Force
   31. Siddharth VARADARAJAN, Founding Editor of The Wire

Indonesia

1. 32. Lina ALEXANDRA, Head of the Department of International Relations and Senior Researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
   33. Professor Dewi Fortuna ANWAR, Research Professor at The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Chair of The Board of Directors of The Habibie Center, Co-Founder of the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia and Academician of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences
   34. Marty NATALEGAWA, Former Foreign Minister of Indonesia, Chair of the APLN International Advisory Board

Japan

1. 35. Ambassador ABE Nobuyasu, former United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, former Director-General for Arms Control and Science Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
   36. Professor Nobumasa AKIYAMA, Professor at the School of International and Public Policy and the Graduate School of Law at Hitotsubashi University
   37. Professor Kiichi FUJIWARA, Professor of International Politics and Director of the Institute for Future Initiatives at the University of Tokyo
   38. Tadashi INUZUKA, former Senator in the House of Councillors of the Diet and Co-President, World Federalist Movement Institute for Global Polity
   39. Minister Yoriko KAWAGUCHI, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan and professor at the Meiji Insitute for Global Affairs
   40. Masakastsu OTA, Visiting Professor, Waseda University and Visiting Professor, Nagasaki University
   41. Ambassador Toshio SANO, Commissioner of the Atomic Energy Commission, Cabinet Office, the Gov’t of Japan, and former Japanese Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament, Geneva
   42. Sayo SARUTA, Director of the New Diplomacy Initiative (ND)
   43. Professor Tatsujiro SUZUKI, Professor, Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA)
   44. Hirofumi TOSAKI, Director for the Center for Disarmament, Science and Technology (CDAST) at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA)
   45. Governor Hidehiko YUZAKI, Governor, Hiroshima Prefecture

Kiribati

1. 46. Tessie Eria LAMBOURNE, I-Kiribati civil servant, diplomat, and politician and former Kiribati Ambassador to the Republic of China

Malaysia

1. 47. Tan Sri Mohamed Jawhar HASSAN, Senior Adviser at the Asia Europe Institute
   48. Professor KUIK Cheng-Chwee, Head of Asian Studies, National University of Malaysia
   49. Elina NOOR, Senior Fellow, Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Mongolia

1. 50. Ambassador JARGALSAIKHAN Enkhsaikhan, Chairman of Blue Banner
   51. Minister Tuya NYAMOSOR, former Foreign Minister of Mongolia

Nepal

1. 52. Pramod JAISWAL, Research Director at the Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement

New Zealand Aotearoa

1. 53. Kate DEWES, Former Director Disarmament and Security Centre (New Zealand) and member of UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters
   54. Ruth DYSON, former Minister for Social Development, former Assistant Speaker of the House of Representatives, former Chief Government Whip in the House of Representatives, New Zealand
   55. Tanya OGILVIE-WHITE, Senior Research Adviser at the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network and Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Pacific Forum
   56. Sir Geoffrey PALMER, Former Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
   57. Angela WOODWARD, Council Member, Disarmament and Security Centre, Aotearoa New Zealand; and APLN International Advisory Board Member

Pakistan

1. 58. Professor Dr. Rabia AKHTAR, Dean Social Sciences and Director Center for Security, Strategy and Policy Research, University of Lahore, Pakistan
   59. Ambassador Salman BASHIR, former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan
   60. Professor Pervez HOODBHOY, Department of Physics, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
   61. General Jehangir KARAMAT, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee in Pakistan; former Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army, and Visiting Faculty at the National Defense University
   62. Brig (ret.) Feroz Hassan KHAN, former Director Arms Control and Disarmament Affairs in Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division and Research Professor in the Department of National Security Affairs, U.S Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California
   63. Abdul Hameed NAYYAR, founding member of the International Panel on Fissile Materials and former physicist at the Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad
   64. Senator Mushahid Hussain SAYED, Chairman, Senate Defence Committee, Parliament of Pakistan, & Co-Chairman, International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP)
   65. Adil SULTAN, Dean Faculty of Aerospace and Strategic Studies at the Air University, Islamabad, Pakistan
   66. Sadia TASLEEM, lecturer at Quaid-i-Azam University’s Department of Defense and Strategic Studies in Islamabad, Pakistan

Philippines

1. 67. Mely CABALLERO-ANTHONY, Professor of International Relations, Associate Dean, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), President’s Chair in International Relations and Security, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
   68. Ambassador Jesus (Gary) S. DOMINGO, Undersecretary for Civilian Security & Consular Affairs, Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs and former Philippines Ambassador to New Zealand
   69. Ambassador Carlos SORRETA, Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Philippine Mission to the United Nations, Geneva

Republic of Korea

1. 70. CHEONG Wook-sik, Director of Peace Network and Director of the Hankyoreh Institute of Peace
   71. Ambassador CHO Hyun, Visiting Professor, Seoul National University, Former Korean Ambassador to the UN
   72. Professor CHOI Jong-Kun, Professor at the Department of Political Science and International Studies at Yonsei University
   73. Professor HAN Yong-Sup, Professor of Defense Policy and Arms Control at Korea National Defense University
   74. Professor Jina KIM, Dean of the Language and Diplomacy Division at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
   75. Ambassador KIM Sung-Hwan, President of Future Consensus Institute and Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea
   76. Ambassador KIM Won-soo, Chair Professor of Incheon National University, former United Nations Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs
   77. LEE Sang-Hyun, President and Senior Research Fellow at the Sejong Institute in Korea, President of the Korea Nuclear Policy Society (KNPS)
   78. Professor Eunjung LIM, Associate Professor, Division of International Studies, Kongju National University
   79. Professor MOON Chung-in, APLN Vice Chair and former Special Adviser of National Security and Foreign Affairs to the ROK President Moon Jae-in
   80. Professor Man-Sung YIM, Bently Chair Professor of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Vice President of International Office, KAIST

Singapore

1. 81. Professor Stephanie KAM Li Yee, Assistant Professor at the China Programme, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at Nanyang Technological University
   82. Professor Kishore MAHBUBANI, Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore; former Singaporean Ambassador to the UN; and former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
   83. Professor Sarah TEO, Assistant Professor, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Sri Lanka

1. 84. Malinda MEEGODA, former Research Associate at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKI)
   85. Ambassador Hewa Matara Gamage Siripala PALIHAKKARA, Former Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka and Former Ambassador and Permanent Representative to UN
   86. Dinusha PANDITARATNE, former Executive Director of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies

Thailand

1. 87. Ambassador Sawanit KONGSIRI, Thai Red Cross Council member
   88. Ambassador Kasit PIROMYA, former Thai Ambassador to the Soviet Union-Russia Federation, Indonesia, Germany, Japan and the United States
   89. Ambassador Kitti WASINONDH, former career diplomat who held distinguished roles in various capacities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand

Vietnam

1. 90. Ambassador Ton-Nu-Thi NINH, President of Ho Chi Minh City Peace Committee, former Ambassador of Viet Nam to the EU, and former Vice-Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee Vietnam National Assembly