February 2024 in Review at APLN

6 Mar 2024 | APLN

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

February was a month of growth for APLN. We focused on expanding our diversity efforts, seeking new funding and research opportunities, and building our network.

In early February, we issued a call for women from across the region to register for our forthcoming open-access database on Asia-Pacific Women in International Security. I hope that you will keep an eye out for its launch this Friday 8th March on International Women’s Day.

We continued publishing under our ongoing projects on Asia-Pacific Strategic Risks and Voices from the Pacific Islands, as well as our regular Korea Times column. This included a report by APLN member Dr. Jina Kim on North Korea’s evolving nuclear posture and the possibility of dual crises on the Korean Peninsula and in Taiwan. We also published an infographic guide on the concept of nuclear justice and two interpretive essays one on the under-appreciated role of women in the anti-nuclear movement in the Pacific, and on the ways in which the non-proliferation and disarmament movement has changed as it becomes increasingly centered in the West. In addition, we featured analysis on the implications of the Indonesian election for the region by APLN member, Natalie Sambhi.

As we move into March, we will continue to build on this hard work. We also remain open to your feedback including suggestions on prospective members, new partnerships, network engagement, and research ideas.

Kind regards,

Shatabhisha Shetty
APLN Executive Director

Share your feedback

Asia-Pacific Women in International Security Database

APLN is building an open-access database of Asia-Pacific Women in International Security to be launched this Friday 8th March, on International Women’s Day.

This database will include women from the Asia-Pacific working on foreign policy, defence, and peace and security-related issues. If you would like to be part of this database, please complete the brief questionnaire and email your photo.

For more details about this initiative, please contact Lucy Stevenson-Yang at stevensonyangl@apln.network.

In February, we released several publications related to our project on Nuclear Disarmament and the Anthropocene: Voices from Pacific Island Countries. Publications this month included two interpretive essays, as well as our third and final infographic of this project.

[Infographic] What is Nuclear Justice?

In the third infographic produced as part of our Voices from the Pacific Islands project, we explore the concept of nuclear justice and break down its three components: retributive justice, restorative/reparative justice, and procedural justice. The infographic provides concrete examples of actions that the international community can take to redress the harm done to affected communities.

See the full infographic

February project publications

Keeping Nuclear Memories Alive

15 February | Brooke Takala argues that while decolonisation and independence have been at the core of the anti-nuclear movement in the Pacific region, anti-colonial roots of the movement are being erased as the global disarmament regime becomes increasingly centered in the West.

Making the “Invisible” Visible: Women and the Anti-Nuclear Resistance in the Pacific Islands

22 February | Nicole George discusses the often-overlooked role of women in the anti-nuclear movement, particularly women in the Pacific Islands. She provides a history of Pacific women’s anti-nuclear activism and gives examples of the many ways in which women have contributed to the movement.

See all project publications

Strategic Stability on the Korean Peninsula: Dual Crisis and Risk Reduction Measures

7 February | Jina Kim discusses North Korea’s evolving nuclear posture, which she argues is shifting closer to potential pre-emptive use of its nuclear capabilities. She goes on to consider possibility of simultaneous crises in Taiwan and on the Korean Peninsula and how this would impact North Korea’s strategic calculations.

Arms control challenges in the Asia-Pacific

14 February | Adil Sultan discusses the limitations of existing global arms control treaties, such as the NPT and the TPNW, in eliminating nuclear weapons. Instead of crafting limiting global arms control solutions, he suggests that countries in the Asia-Pacific work on creating regional arms control approaches tailored to the region’s specific needs.

Indonesia’s Prabowo Presidency: Is the Asia-Pacific Ready for it?

21 February | Natalie Sambhi explores what to expect from president-elect Prabowo Subianto, what it means to be a “continuity” candidate, Prabowo’s foreign policy plans, and what Indonesia hopes to see in the Asia-Pacific.

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