Institutionalising Nuclear Failsafe Practices in South Asia

18 Apr 2025 | APLN

18 April 2025

This week, Adil Sultan makes a case for institutionalising nuclear failsafe reviews in South Asia, in light of growing military asymmetries and emerging disruptive technologies. We hosted two workshops on Exploring New Maritime Confidence and Security Building Measures in the Asia-Pacific, and we also share a new infographic on nuclear risks in the Asia-Pacific.

As always, we highlight recent activities from our network, including analysis on South Korea’s domestic politics, Pakistan’s nuclear posture, the China-US trade war, and Vietnam’s reaction to US tariffs.

Nuclear Failsafe Reviews and Risk Reduction Approaches in South Asia

Adil Sultan analyses nuclear risks between India and Pakistan, highlighting the Balakot incident from 2019 and the Brahmos missile misfiring from 2022 as examples of the dangers posed by miscalculation, unauthorised actions, and the lack of crisis management mechanisms. He argues that there is an urgent need to conduct regular nuclear failsafe reviews by India and Pakistan to build confidence, reduce the risk of accidents or misjudgements, and prevent nuclear escalation during serious military crises.

Read the commentary

Exploring New Maritime Confidence and Security Building Measures (CSBMS) in the Asia-Pacific

On April 14-15, APLN hosted two workshops on Exploring New Maritime Confidence and Security Building Measures in the Asia-Pacific. The workshops separately convened experts from Northeast Asia and South Asia, to discuss opportunities and potential hurdles for new confidence and security building measures within their regions. This work builds upon APLN’s previous work on Asia-Pacific maritime security issues, and is intended to produce rigorously tested regional stability mechanisms which reflect the needs of and perspectives from the region.

Nuclear Risks in the Asia-Pacific

See the full infographic

The Asia-Pacific is faced with growing nuclear dangers from past and present nuclear policies and practices, the intensifying geopolitical climate and serious challenges to global disarmament efforts. These dangers are, however, viewed and experienced in many different ways by countries and communities in the Asia-Pacific, highlighting a range of concerns from the continued existence of nuclear weapons.

Based on discussions at the APLN Asia-Pacific roundtable on Nuclear Issues and Humanitarian Crises with experts and former practitioners from the region, we share a new infographic that explores how nuclear risks are perceived and experienced across the different sub-regions of the Asia-Pacific. It highlights both the convergences and divergences in regional perspectives, the transnational and humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons, and the opportunities for building synergies to mitigate these risks across the region.

This infographic is produced as part of our project on Voices from the Pacific Island Countries, supported by the Ploughshares Fund.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in the Pacific

The TPNW has seen great progress since entering into force in 2021, but still has a long way to go. This infographic explains which states in the Pacific have acceded to the treaty, which have not yet ratified, and which are opposed.

Nuclear Tests in the Pacific

We detail the countries and islands that were affected by nuclear testing with visual data on the number of nuclear weapons tested, timeline and scale of tests, and the testing countries responsible.

What is Nuclear Justice?

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.

APLN has over 160 members from 22 countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Each week we feature their latest contributions
to global and regional security debates.

See all member activities

Moment of Reckoning: Presidential Impeachment

Kim Won-soo, former Under Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs of the United Nations, wrote for The Korea Times and reflected on the Constitutional Court’s impeachment verdict as a pivotal moment for South Korea, emphasising its legal and political significance in a deeply polarised society.

Better Know a Nuke: Pakistan

Rabia Akhtar, Dean Faculty of Social Sciences at University of Lahore, discussed the history of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, how its strategic doctrine evolved over time and arms control proposals for the region, in a conversation with Alexander Bollfrass and Mansoor Ahmed.

A U.S.-China Trade War With Students and Tourists as Potential Pawns

Shen Dingli, Professor and former Executive Dean at Fudan University’s Institute of International Studies, was interviewed by The New York Times, where he commented that using people-to-people exchange as bargaining chips in an intensifying China-US face-off is an emotional and irrational move, as maintaining such exchanges is crucial to preventing deeper conflict amid rising trade frictions.

The ‘Tariff Man’ Cometh: Vietnam’s Misplaced Faith in Trump 2.0

Hoang Thi Ha, Senior Fellow and Co-coordinator of the Regional Strategic and Political Studies Programme at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, wrote for the South China Morning Post and argued that Vietnam’s leaders must prepare for US retrenchment. Meanwhile, the public must let go of their blind admiration for Trump and instead adopt a clear-eyed view of the “Tariff Man” and the disruption he has unleashed on the world.

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.

4th fl., 116, Pirundae-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea, (03035)
Tel: +82-2-2135-2170
Email: apln@apln.network

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.