| This week, we commemorate 80 years of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with a series of interpretive essays on ‘80 years since Nuclear Use — Looking to the Past to See the Future‘. We invited distinguished senior experts and former policy practitioners along with emerging scholars to examine past lessons to find future pathways for a world without nuclear weapons. We publish three opening commentaries by Gareth Evans, HMGS Palihakkara, and Jiang Tianjiao, emphasising that nuclear disarmament is both a moral and strategic imperative to prevent nuclear catastrophe.
We additionally highlight a special testimony event co-hosted by APLN member Kim Joon Hyung, which brought together nuclear survivors and anti-nuclear campaigners to share their personal experiences and advocate for justice, accountability, and the abolition of nuclear weapons.
As always, we highlight recent activities from our network, including analyses on the commemoration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, challenges for the ROK-US alliance, China’s evolving nuclear strategy, and Australia–South Korea maritime capacity-building cooperation in Southeast Asia. |
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80 Years Since Nuclear Use –
Looking to the Past to See the Future
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In our inaugural essay commemorating the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, APLN’s founding convenor and senior member, and former foreign minister of Australia, Gareth Evans argues that the world has avoided nuclear catastrophe not through credible deterrence or reliable systems, but by sheer luck, with numerous near-misses exposing the fragility of nuclear deterrence. While rational arguments for disarmament remain essential, he contends that emotional and political drivers must also be mobilised to reignite a sense of revulsion at the horror of any form of nuclear use among the publics and policymakers.
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Disarmament in Retreat: Can the NPT Survive a Prolonged Disarmament Drought?
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HMGS Palihakkara, APLN member and former Chairman of the UN Secretary General’s advisory board on disarmament, highlights that the global nuclear non-proliferation regime is under severe strain, as nuclear weapon states continue to modernise their arsenals while neglecting their disarmament obligations under the NPT. Drawing on decades of personal experience in multilateral negotiations, he proposes four concrete measures to salvage the fate of the NPT ahead of its 2026 Review Conference, while also warning that continued inaction on nuclear disarmament could trigger the collapse of the entire non-proliferation regime.
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80 Year after Hiroshima and Nagasaki:
A Threatening Decline of the Nuclear Taboo
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Jiang Tianjiao, Associate Professor at Fudan University, warns that the nuclear taboo is eroding due to intensifying geopolitical rivalries, emerging disruptive technologies, and growing public tolerance for nuclear weapons. He calls for all nuclear-armed states to adopt a no-first-use policy and begin negotiations on an international treaty prohibiting the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states. Upholding this commitment is essential to preventing nuclear war and advancing global disarmament.
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On 8 August, 2025, a special testimony event was held at the National Assembly in Seoul, bringing together nuclear survivors and anti-nuclear activists from Korea, Japan, the Marshall Islands, the Philippines, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kazakhstan, and the United States. With a cross-party group of lawmakers, APLN member Kim Joon Hyung co-hosted the event, which was organized by the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy. The meeting created a powerful platform for sharing first-hand accounts of nuclear harm and amplifying calls for justice, accountability, and disarmament.
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APLN has over 170 members from 23 countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Each week we feature their latest contributions
to global and regional security debates.
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| Chung-in Moon, APLN Vice Chair, wrote for Hankyoreh and argued that, while immediate tariff threats have eased, South Korea now faces critical security challenges in redefining its alliance with the United States. South Korea must proactively assume primary responsibility for its defense, rethink its command structures, and leverage this moment to move beyond dependence on the United States toward lasting peace and security in the region. |
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| Melissa Parke, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), attended the 80th Hiroshima Peace Memorial Commemoration and emphasised that leaders of nuclear-armed nations should take immediate action to meet hibakusha’s desire to see nuclear weapons eliminated within their lifetimes. |
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| C Uday Bhaskar, Director of the Society for Policy Studies (SPS), New Delhi, wrote for The Indian Express, pointing out that the breakdown in US-Russia relations, Israel’s attack on Iran, and the threat of military escalation have challenged the nuclear norms that have held since the United States used atomic weapons against Japan in 1945. |
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| Tong Zhao, Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program and China Center at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote for Foreign Policy and analysed recent changes in Beijing’s strategic capabilities and their potential implications for future doctrine. |
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| Dongkeun Lee, APLN Policy Fellow, published an article with the Australian Institute of International Affairs as part of the “Blue Security” project, which is led by La Trobe Asia, University of Western Australia Defence and Security Institute, United States Studies Centre, UNSW Canberra and the Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy and Defence Dialogue (AP4D). |
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