| In our latest update, we publish a special report by Tianjiao Jiang examining how China uses the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS to advance a security model integrating development and regional stability in a fragmenting international order. Syed Ali Zia Jaffery argues that conducting nuclear failsafe reviews could serve as a practical risk reduction measure by strengthening resilience against emerging technologies, increasing transparency, and rebuilding confidence for future arms control dialogue.
Our weekly roundup of member activities features analysis on ROK-China relations, alternatives to North Korean denuclearisation, the growing nuclear risks posed by artificial intelligence, Indian Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the South Pacific, and more. |
|
|
The Role of SCO and BRICS in Asian Stability from the Chinese Perspective
|
|
|
Tianjiao Jiang examines how China is advancing its Global Security Initiative through the complementary roles of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS. While the SCO serves as a platform for regional security and political coordination, BRICS strengthens economic resilience and cooperation across the Global South. Together, the two organisations illustrate Beijing’s broader vision of integrating development and security while promoting incremental reforms to global governance. The paper also explores how both institutions are evolving to address emerging security and economic challenges, and what their continued expansion could mean for regional stability and the future of the international order.
|
|
|
Failsafe Reviews: A Veritable CBM in the Age of Emerging Technologies
|
|
|
With traditional arms control mechanisms in decline and geopolitical tensions limiting prospects for new agreements, Syed Ali Zia Jaffery argues that unilateral nuclear failsafe reviews offer a practical means of reducing the risks of unauthorised, inadvertent, or accidental nuclear use. Such reviews could assess the resilience of nuclear enterprises against emerging and disruptive technologies, enhance transparency, and reassure both domestic and international audiences. While they are no substitute for formal arms control agreements, failsafe reviews could help rebuild confidence and lay the groundwork for renewed arms control discussions.
|
|
|
APLN has over 180 members from 24 countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Each week, we feature their latest contributions
to global and regional security debates.
|
|
| Chung-in Moon, APLN Vice Chair, wrote for Hankyoreh and argued that the restoration of ROK–China relations should not obscure the strategic differences that continue to shape bilateral ties, calling for a more pragmatic and empathetic approach to managing these tensions while safeguarding South Korea’s national interests. |
|
|
| Melissa Parke, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), spoke to Vatican News on the sidelines of the Global Nobel Laureates Assembly on Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear War, warning that artificial intelligence is increasing nuclear risks and urging renewed commitment to dialogue, disarmament, and international law. |
|
|
| Cheong Wook-sik, Director of the Hankyoreh Peace Institute and Director of the Peace Network, argued that the longstanding pursuit of North Korea’s denuclearisation has become increasingly unrealistic and suggested that a strategy centred on peaceful coexistence, arms control, and nuclear risk reduction may provide a more viable way forward. |
|
|
| Eunjung Lim, Professor at the Division of International Studies, Kongju National University (KNU), published a paper in Local Society & Politics that reconceptualises local extinction in Japan not as a simple phenomenon of population decline, but as a structural process in which qualitative regression in industrial structures and quantitative population shrinkage are closely interconnected. |
|
|
| Rajaram Panda, former Senior Fellow at the Pradhanmantri Memorial Museum and Library, co-wrote a commentary with Upasha Kumari on Indian Prime Minister Modi’s recent visit to the South Pacific, highlighting that India’s expanding partnerships with New Zealand and Australia reflect its broader Indo-Pacific strategy and vision for a multipolar Asia. |
|
|
Was this newsletter forwarded to you?
Sign up here to receive weekly updates from APLN directly to your inbox.
|
|
|
Do you want direct updates on non-proliferation and disarmament issues
in the Asia-Pacific?
Before it’s in the newsletter, it’s on social media.
Follow APLN for direct updates in your favorite social media feed.
|
|
|
|
|
