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This week, as we mark the anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Marianne Hanson argues that the NPT cannot survive on old merits. We also welcome four new members to the APLN senior network, and Sujata Mehta and Shen Dingli join APLN’s International Advisory Board.
We also share member activities, including the 36th Asia-Pacific Roundtable convened by ISIS Malaysia, a projection on the trajectory of China-India relations, a discussion on nuclear ethics, calls for guardrails in the US-Russia relationship, and the need for G20 leaders to strengthen their deterrence commitments. |
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We are delighted to welcome two members who have been appointed to APLN’s International Advisory Board.
- Prof. Shen Dingli (China), Professor at Fudan University
- Amb. Sujata Mehta (India), former Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament
Responsibilities of the International Advisory Board include advising on APLN’s work program, activities, and research, as well as upholding high standards of accountability, transparency, and effectiveness of APLN’s operations. |
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APLN warmly welcomes four new members to our senior network:
- Ms. Elina Noor (Malaysia), Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC
- Mr. Malinda Meegoda (Sri Lanka), Researcher, Verité Research, Colombo
- Dr. Rabia Akhtar (Pakistan), Founding Director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Policy Research at the University of Lahore
- Dr. Stefanie KAM Li Yee (Singapore), Assistant Professor at the China Programme, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at Nanyang Technological University
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The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Cannot Live on Old Merits
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| Marianne Hanson, Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Queensland, argues that unless the nuclear weapon states can show signs of genuine commitment to nuclear disarmament at the PrepCom and the 2026 Review Conference, the Non-Proliferation Treaty is at risk of unravelling completely. |
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| On the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, APLN joined a coalition of institutions and public figures around the world in sharing photos of paper cranes with the hashtag #CranesForOurFuture.
This campaign was launched by the Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Prefectures and the Nuclear Threat Initiative in the spirit of international cooperation and in honour of those who perished in the bombings in Japan 78 years ago. |
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Protecting Nuclear Arms Control Is a Global Imperative
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| In May, the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network and the European Leadership Network released a joint statement, warning that nuclear arms control must not be allowed to fall victim to geopolitical competition and issuing a call for action.
“We have many different views on the rights and wrongs of current geopolitical competition. But we all agree that it is long past time to start prioritising nuclear arms control and taking unilateral, bilateral, and multilateral actions.” the statement says.
The statement calls on Russia and the United States to pursue a successor framework to the nuclear arms reduction treaty, New START, before its expiration in 2026, and for all states to reaffirm commitments not to test nuclear weapons and make concerted efforts toward the entry-into-force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
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The Crossroads of Atomic Warfare in One Family
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| Michael Roach, a former US Army atomic demolition munitions specialist, provides a remarkable account of multigenerational involvement in nuclear war in his photo-essay “The Crossroads of Atomic Warfare in One Family”. It includes a previously unpublished photo of the starboard nose of the Enola Gay bomber that delivered the first atomic bomb, showing the inscription “First Atomic Bomb – Hiroshima – August 6, 1945.”
The essay is co-published with the Nautilus Institute, and the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (RECNA). |
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| Tanya Ogilvie-White, APLN Senior Research Adviser, dissects the stakes involved in the 10th NPT Review Conference and advocates for states to approach the conference with a commitment to practicing strategic empathy ― to genuinely listen to each other’s fears and concerns and to be willing to compromise and prioritize for everyone’s sake. |
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| Carlos D. Sorreta, former Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of the Philippine Permanent Mission to the UN, discusses what happened in New York following the collapse of the 10th NPT Review Conference. |
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APLN has over 130 members from 20 countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Each week we feature their latest contributions
to global and regional security debates.
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| From August 8-10, APLN members Chen Dongxiao, Sarah Teo, Jusuf Wanandi, and Elina Noor will participate in the 36th Asia-Pacific Roundtable to explore the latest trends and developments in the region. The conference, convened by ISIS Malaysia, aims to provide insights into how businesses and governments can navigate an increasingly complex strategic landscape. |
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| Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Director of the Centre for Security, Strategy, and Technology, wrote for The Diplomat on the state of India-China relations. With Xi possibly visiting India for the G-20 Summit in September, some hope for a tempering of tensions but the chance of a breakthrough is quite low and remains more of a wishful thinking. |
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| Rakesh Sood, former Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Afghanistan and France, wrote for The Hindu on nuclear signaling. He argued that the lessons from the Cold War no longer seem effective in today’s changed political environment. Both the US and Russia operate in a grey zone, probing each other’s red lines and engaging in escalatory rhetoric, necessitating the establishment of new guardrails to preserve the nuclear taboo. |
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| Tatsujiro Suzuki, Vice Director and Professor of the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition at Nagasaki University, will speak at a panel, convened by Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs to reflect on and explore emerging ethical questions surrounding nuclear weapons. |
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| C Uday Bhaskar, Director of the Society for Policy Studies (SPS), New Delhi, wrote for South China Morning Post and argued that the coming G20 summit in India would be an appropriate forum for world leaders to reiterate their commitment to nuclear restraint and a return to deterrence. |
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