| This week, we released a new report on APLN’s Suva Dialogue on Security in the Pacific and Asia, which champions Pacific voices in security discussions and presents a compelling vision for regional cooperation beyond the US-China competition. The report offers a roadmap for Asia-Pacific collaboration that prioritises indigenous perspectives and regional solutions over externally imposed frameworks.
As always, we highlight recent activities from our network, including analyses on North Korea’s nuclear program and the future of inter-Korean relations, lessons from the May 2025 India-Pakistan crisis, China’s new arms control white paper, Malaysia’s leadership of ASEAN and more. |
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Suva Dialogue on Security in the Pacific and Asia
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Tanvi Kulkarni, Senior Policy Fellow and Elaine Natalie, former Policy Fellow, summarise key findings from the Track II Suva Dialogue on Security in the Pacific and Asia, convened in Suva, Fiji, in April 2025. The report offers an alternative to binary thinking about regional security, calling for Pacific and Asian states to act as “players, not pawns,” in shaping the regional security architecture. The authors highlight the need to address foundational governance and development challenges while building synergies between nuclear and climate risk agendas through deeper multilevel engagement, reciprocal capacity-building, and sustained Asia-Pacific dialogue.
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| By identifying priorities, pressures, challenges, and opportunities, this infographic explores how states can balance competing demands to build pathways toward greater regional stability and cooperation. |
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| We show how nuclear risks are perceived and experienced across the Asia-Pacific sub-regions, highlighting regional convergences and divergences, the transnational and humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons, and opportunities to mitigate these risks. |
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| The TPNW has achieved notable progress since its entry into force in 2021, but further efforts are needed. The infographic outlines which Pacific countries have joined the treaty, which have not ratified it, and which are against it. |
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| We detail the countries and islands that were affected by nuclear testing with visual data on the number of nuclear weapons tested, timeline, scale of tests, and the testing countries responsible. |
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| We explore the concept of nuclear justice and break down its three components: retributive justice, restorative/reparative justice, and procedural justice. This infographic provides concrete examples of actions that the international community can take to redress the harm done to affected communities. |
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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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Jun Bong-geun, Professor Emeritus at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, was featured on The Impossible State podcast, where he discussed North Korea’s move to constitutionally cement its nuclear status, the Lee Jae Myung administration’s E.N.D. initiative to restart dialogue, and President Trump’s push for renewed summitry.
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| Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Resident Senior Fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), joins Stimson South Asia program director Elizabeth Threlkeld to reflect on lessons from the May India-Pakistan Crisis, discussing strategic learning, limited conventional war under the nuclear shadow, information warfare, and takeaways for future crises. |
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| Nobumasa Akiyama, APLN Senior Associate Fellow and Professor at the School of International and Public Policy and the Graduate School of Law at Hitotsubashi University, wrote for The Japan Institute of International Affairs and analysed China’s new white paper, titled “China’s Arms Control, Disarmament, and Nonproliferation in the New Era.” |
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| Elina Noor, Senior Fellow in the Asia Programme at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote for South China Morning Post and pointed out that Malaysia, as ASEAN chair, was attempting to initiate systemic reform; though, ironically, it may not have gone far enough. |
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| Rajaram Panda, former Senior Fellow at Pradhanmantri Memorial Museum and Library (PMML), wrote for Eurasia Review, noting that Taiwan’s pursuit of the ambitious T-Dome air-defence system reflects its urgent efforts to bolster self-defence, with significant implications for regional security. |
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