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This week at APLN, we share updates from our network members at the fourth meeting of the Japanese government’s International Group of Eminent Persons for a World Without Nuclear Weapons (IGEP) in Yokohama. We also revisit our Pulse on Taiwan’s new president, William Lai, as he settles into office.
Looking to the week ahead, APLN is excited to host two webinars on May 28 and May 29. We hope you can join us.
As always, we share recent activities from our network, including analysis on Taiwan’s economic pivot towards Southeast Asia, Fiji-China relations, Iranian President Raisi’s helicopter crash, and more.
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The Fourth Meeting of the International Group of Eminent Persons (IGEP)
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Top picture (from left to right): Tong Zhao, Michiru Nishida, Tanya Ogilvie-White, Manpreet Sethi, Nobumasa Akiyama, Marty Natalegawa
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On May 21 and 22, the fourth meeting of the International Group of Eminent Persons for a World Without Nuclear Weapons (IGEP) took place in Yokohama. The IGEP was created by the Japanese government to serve as a platform for nuclear security experts from across the globe to exchange ideas on how to achieve a world without nuclear weapons. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida spoke at the meeting.
Six APLN members and staff were present:
- Marty Natalegawa, Chair of APLN’s International Advisory Board; Former Foreign Minister of Indonesia
- Tong Zhao, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Michiru Nishida, Senior Research Adviser at APLN; Professor, School of Global Humanities and Social Sciences, Nagasaki University
- Tanya Ogilvie-White, Senior Research Adviser at APLN; non-resident senior fellow at the Pacific Forum
- Manpreet Sethi, Senior Research Adviser at APLN; Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS)
- Nobumasa Akiyama, Senior Associate Fellow at APLN; Professor at the School of International and Public Policy and the Graduate School of Law at Hitotsubashi University
The group discussed priorities and contemporary challenges in promoting nuclear disarmament, including the impact of emerging technologies; responsibilities, ethics, and norms surrounding nuclear weapons; and updates to nuclear arms control and non-proliferation regimes with a view to making recommendations to the 2026 NPT Review Conference. |
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| On May 20, Taiwan welcomed its new president William Lai Ching-te into office. In his inaugural address, President Lai stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific, but it’s not yet clear what that means in practice.
Today, we revisit an APLN Pulse in which experts Brian Hioe, Russell Hsiao, and Chong Ja Ian weighed in Taiwan’s vision for peace in the region, foreign policy under President Lai, and what we can expect from China during this presidency. |
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Online only | Tuesday, May 28 from 9:00am to 10:30am
Join us for the launch of our new report, What Should Be Done? Practical Policies to Prevent Nuclear Catastrophe, written by Van Jackson. The webinar will include a presentation of the report’s findings, a recap of APLN’s project on Nuclear Weapon Use Risk Reduction, and a discussion on how to pursue an effective, pragmatic, and holistic policymaking approach to avoid nuclear conflict.
Peter Hayes, opening remarks
Executive Director of the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability
Van Jackson
APLN Senior Research Adviser and Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington
Eva Lisowski
APLN Associate Fellow
Jun Bong-geun
Professor Emeritus at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA)
Tong Zhao
Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Kazuko Hikawa
Vice Director, Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA)
Shatabhisha Shetty, moderator
APLN Executive Director
Fumihiko Yoshida, closing remarks
Director, Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA)
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Add this event to your calendar:
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Online only | Wednesday, May 29 from 5:00pm to 6:15pm
Join APLN and the European Leadership Network for the launch of our new report exploring how Australia, Japan, South Korea, and the UK perceive strategic risks in the Asia-Pacific: where they overlap, where they diverge, and how to coordinate policy approaches among these stakeholders. The report is forthcoming.
Speakers
Abe Nobuyasu
Senior Advisor, Council on Strategic Risks
Jina Kim
Dean of the Language and Diplomacy Division, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Rishi Paul
Senior Policy Fellow, European Leadership Network
Joel Petersson-Ivre
Policy Fellow, Asia-Pacific Leadership Network
Maria Rost Rublee
Professor of International Relations, University of Melbourne
Shatabhisha Shetty, moderator
Director, Asia-Pacific Leadership Network
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Add this event to your calendar:
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APLN has over 150 members from 22 countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Each week we feature their latest contributions
to global and regional security debates.
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| Hoang Thi Ha, Senior Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, co-wrote a commentary with Pham Thi Phuong Thao on Taiwan’s growing economic links with Southeast Asia. They highlighted that Taiwan is seeking to diversify its economy away from dependence on China by focusing more on Southeast Asia, which would yield benefits in multiple ways. |
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| Shyam Saran, former Indian Foreign Secretary, wrote for the Indian Express on the death of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and its implication on India-Iran relations, arguing that geopolitical churn in West Asia has made India-Iran deal on Chabahar port more important. |
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| Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology (CSST) at the Observer Research Foundation, contributed a chapter to a National Bureau of Asian Research edited volume, Meeting China’s Nuclear and WMD Buildup: Regional Threat Perceptions and Responses. The chapter deals with the development of China’s nuclear forces and assesses their impact on India. |
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| C Uday Bhaskar, Director of the Society for Policy Studies (SPS), New Delhi, wrote for the Quint on Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s mysterious death and argued that it is unlikely to significantly impact the India-Iran relationship, which has been constrained by the swings in the Iran-US bilateral relationship. |
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| Mely Caballero-Anthony, Professor of International Relations, Associate Dean and Head of Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies at RSIS, discussed how converging crises challenge existing policy approaches and explored the necessary incentives and innovations to foster better cooperation across organizations, disciplines, and borders, in the 2024 Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development. |
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| Cheong Wook-Sik, Director of Peace Network and Director of the Hankyoreh Institute of Peace, suggested the idea of ruling out the possibility of armed reunification in the event of a contingency on the peninsula. While ruling out an armed reunification scenario may not be a panacea, it is well worth discussing as part of public discourse. |
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| Sandra Tarte, Associate Professor and acting Head of the School of Law and Social Sciences at the University of the South Pacific, co-wrote an article with Nicola Baker for the Australian Institute of International Affairs. They pointed out that increasing geopolitical tensions and domestic pressures have tested Fiji’s efforts to strike a balance in relations with its traditional partners and China. |
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