In August, APLN has focused on a series of developments reshaping nuclear dynamics in the Asia-Pacific, not least on the Korean Peninsula, where the risks of escalation and miscalculation continue to grow. President Trump instructed the Pentagon to substantially reduce US-South Korea joint military exercises. Yet North Korea has continued to reject US overtures and reaffirm its nuclear weapons programme as an enduring pillar of national security. The widening gap between the two sides, now compounded by shifting alliance coordination, raises pressing questions about sustaining nuclear restraint amid strategic rivalry and rapid technological change.

This month’s commentaries address several of these challenges. Gareth Evans, former Australian Foreign Minister, makes the case for restoring the role of international law in constraining the use and threat of use of nuclear weapons. Robert Floyd, Executive Secretary of the CTBTO, calls for renewed commitment to ending nuclear testing. Ali Alkis and Gatra Priyandita turn to the cyber domain, considering how governments can strengthen the security of nuclear infrastructure and build regional capacity to address cyber incidents and attribution.

Our latest APLN Korea Times columns take up pressing questions for the non-proliferation regime. John Carlson considers the implications of proposed US-Saudi nuclear cooperation for international safeguards, while Salma Malik examines the growing risks posed by military AI in the Asia-Pacific and the need for stronger regional risk-reduction frameworks. In the fourth episode of our Talking Nuclear interview series, Manpreet Sethi is joined by John Tilemann to discuss the changing global security landscape and the future of the NPT.

A special report from our Asia Dialogue on China-US Relations discusses the regional tensions which play out against a wider reconfiguration of major-power relations in the region. Building on our previous conference in Kuala Lumpur, the report examines how the longstanding “China for economy, US for security” paradigm is shifting and how middle powers in the Asia-Pacific are navigating an increasingly complex major-power landscape.

Through the Advancing Nuclear Fail-Safe in the Asia-Pacific project, we published key takeaways from workshops in Beijing and Islamabad on how emerging technologies may affect the risk of nuclear use and pathways toward global fail-safe solutions. We also released three reports on NATO’s engagement with the IP4, focusing on cross-theatre escalation risks and opportunities for deeper institutional and bilateral cooperation. In addition, we launched a new joint project with the Toda Institute to explore practical pathways for reducing nuclear risks in the region, with a workshop taking place in Tokyo this September. We look forward to sharing the outcomes in the months ahead.

We are also pleased to welcome seven new members to the APLN network. Their expertise and perspectives will strengthen our work as we navigate the evolving nuclear and security challenges facing the region.

As always, we greatly appreciate your support for APLN and welcome your feedback on our work.

Gareth Evans, former Australian Foreign Minister, highlights the urgent necessity of restoring the authority of international law to prevent existential nuclear catastrophe. As nuclear arms control weakens and respect for international law comes under growing pressure, the legal constraints on nuclear weapons risk losing their salience. He calls for renewed efforts to ensure that international law remains central to nuclear decision-making and continues to play its role in reducing nuclear risks.

Marking the International Day against Nuclear Tests, Robert Floyd, CTBTO Executive Secretary, calls on governments to reaffirm their commitment to ending nuclear testing. He reflects on the dramatic decline in nuclear tests since the CTBT opened for signature in 1996, while warning that this progress cannot be taken for granted. With some governments raising the possibility of renewed testing, Floyd urges states to strengthen the commitments, verification systems and international cooperation that have helped sustain nuclear restraint.

As more countries across the Asia-Pacific adopt nuclear power, cybersecurity is becoming a critical concern. Ali Alkis examines three areas of vulnerability: the challenge of modernising older systems, risks across complex supply chains, and human and organisational weaknesses. He further proposes four practical priorities for governments to strengthen cyber resilience, and explores how regional cooperation could help countries share expertise and respond more effectively to cyber incidents.

ASEAN has laid the foundations for responsible behaviour in cyberspace through its adoption of UN cyber norms and the 2024 implementation checklist. Yet these achievements alone cannot ensure accountability when norms are breached. Gatra Priyandita argues that Southeast Asian states should prioritise developing a collective attribution capability by approaching attribution first as a technical capacity before it becomes a political act. Taking an incremental, coalition-based approach would allow the region to move beyond declaratory commitments and build a more credible governance framework.

John Carlson examines the proposed US-Saudi Arabia nuclear cooperation and warns that allowing uranium enrichment while not requiring Saudi Arabia to adopt the IAEA Additional Protocol risks weakening international safeguards and verification standards. Carlson further argues that these concessions could undermine wider non-proliferation efforts, particularly in the Middle East, by reducing incentives for stronger verification elsewhere. He calls on the United States and its partners to reaffirm support for the universalisation of the Additional Protocol and to strengthen the global nonproliferation regime.

Salma Malik points out that rising nuclear tensions and strategic rivalries are leaving the Asia-Pacific, especially the Korean Peninsula, increasingly vulnerable to miscalculation and escalation. The rapid development of military AI could further heighten these risks by shortening the time available for leaders to assess threats, consult with others and make measured decisions. Malik calls for stronger regional frameworks on military AI and nuclear risk, arguing that South Korea is uniquely positioned to lead these efforts and complement deterrence with effective crisis-management mechanisms.

In the fourth episode of our new Talking Nuclear interview series, APLN Senior Research Adviser Manpreet Sethi is joined by APLN Senior Associate Fellow John Tilemann to discuss the changing global security landscape, the future of the NPT, and the challenges facing multilateral diplomacy. They also examine how emerging technologies are reshaping arms control, and explore the continuing relevance of export controls, the debate surrounding AUKUS, and the evolving role of the IAEA in supporting the global non-proliferation regime.

Tanvi Kulkarni, Senior Policy Fellow and Hree Putri Samudra, Policy Fellow, summarise key findings from the fourth Asia Dialogue on China-US relations, “The Shifting Trajectories of Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific” convened in Kuala Lumpur in April 2026. The report examines how the longstanding “China for economy, US for security” paradigm is evolving amid new geopolitical shifts – specifically the second Trump administration’s 2025 National Security Strategy, which prioritises selective engagement outside the Asia-Pacific. It explores how middle powers, Southeast Asian nations, and Global South states are responding, from hedging strategies and engagement with Chinese-led platforms like BRICS and the SCO to developing new models of regional security cooperation looking toward 2035.

APLN, together with the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), and the European Leadership Network (ELN) have worked since March 2020 to highlight the benefits of independent, internal “fail-safe” reviews in nuclear-armed states. These reviews would be effective unilateral nuclear risk-reduction steps, not requiring any negotiation, treaty, or verification.

In the second year of this project, we convened fail-safe workshops with partner organisations in China and Pakistan, exploring how emerging technologies affect nuclear use risk and examining pathways toward global fail-safe solutions. Explore the key takeaways from our workshops in Beijing and Islamabad.

“Managing First-Strike Pressures, the Nuclear Taboo, and Proliferation Risks in Northeast Asia” is a joint APLN–Toda Peace Institute research and policy dialogue project launched in 2026. Through commissioned research papers, policy briefs, and thematic dialogues, the project develops practical policy recommendations for reducing nuclear risks in the region. This work will culminate in a workshop in Tokyo in September 2026 convening experts from Japan, South Korea, China, the United States, Russia, and India. 

The Cross-Theatre Strategic Cooperation project, conducted by APLN and the European Leadership Network (ELN), convenes senior Track-II experts from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, and Euro-Atlantic states to explore ways to enhance cooperation on cross-theatre crisis prevention and crisis management. As part of this work, the project has produced three reports on cross-theatre escalation dynamics, institutional cooperation between NATO and the IP4, and bilateral cooperation between NATO and individual IP4 member states.

We are delighted to welcome seven new members to the APLN network in August:

Pou Sothirak is a Distinguished Senior Adviser to the Cambodian Center for Regional Studies (CCRS). He served as Cambodia’s Ambassador to Japan from 2005 to 2009 and was Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy from 1993 to 1998.

Da Wei is the Director of the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) and a Professor in the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University. His research focuses on China-U.S. relations, as well as U.S. security and foreign policy.

Hina Rabbani Khar served as the first woman Foreign Minister of Pakistan from 2011-2013. She has been elected Member of Parliament for four terms and is currently serving as Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Parliament of Pakistan.

Miriam Coronel-Ferrer is a founding member of the Southeast Asian Women Peace Mediators and served for three years on the UN Standby Team of Mediators. A retired professor of politics at the University of the Philippines, she is currently a senior fellow at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research and serves on the boards of the International Crisis Group and Interpeace.

Leituala Kuiniselani Toelupe Tago of Samoan descent is a regional public servant with nearly three decades of experience in the Pacific. She specialises in strategic leadership, social policy, development programming, organisational governance, change management, community engagement and institutional strengthening. Her deep knowledge of Pacific contexts and indigenous cultures; Pacific regionalism and commitment to Pacific-led development, continues to guide her journey as a Pacific professional and as the Dean for Research and Strategic Partnerships at the Pasifika Communities University (PCU).

Ilan Kiloe is an international legal practitioner and seasoned regional diplomat and civil servant. He has recently served as the Acting Director General of the Melanesian Spearhead Group Secretariat. As the Secretariat’s longest-serving official and inaugural legal adviser, he has led high-level missions to the UN, EU and European Parliament, advancing regional priorities including climate change, decolonization, security and international cooperation.

Sione Tekiteki is a Pacific international relations and legal scholar, practitioner and former regional diplomat with over two decades of experience in Pacific regionalism and regional security. He is currently Senior Lecturer in Law and Pacific Lead at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), and previously served at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and as Clerk of the Parliament of Tonga.