| This week, Frank O’Donnell writes on how the lack of a US-China strategic nuclear dialogue is feeding dangerous misperceptions, and how unilateral nuclear fail-safe reviews can reduce risks. APLN Vice Chair Chung-in Moon shares insights on South Korea’s foreign policy future. And we revisit a special report from our Asia Dialogue on China-US Relations on the anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, analysing how lessons from the Cold War can be applied to the US-China relationship.
As always, we highlight recent activities from our network, including analyses on South Korea’s defense policy, the resurgence of the arms race, Indonesia’s civil-military relations, and more. |
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Existential Need for Reducing US-China Nuclear Tensions
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Frank O’Donnell observes that the absence of a sustained US-China nuclear dialogue is driving mutual misperceptions and arms buildups. As an important risk-mitigation measure, he proposes that all nuclear-armed states conduct internal fail-safe reviews to independently assess the resilience of their nuclear forces and command-and-control systems against malfunctions, malign actors, or errors that could lead to accidental use. While such measures are critical for national and nuclear security, he notes that they still cannot substitute for direct high-level strategic dialogue to prevent catastrophic miscalculation.
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Tokyo Outpost: Dr. Moon Chung-in on South Korea’s Foreign Policy Future
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APLN Vice Chair Chung-in Moon was interviewed by Japan Forward, where he offered insights on how Seoul can navigate its delicate balancing act between the United States and China amidst a shifting geopolitical environment and security challenges. He argued that South Korea should pursue more creative foreign policy ideas, such as transforming the dilemma of collective defence systems into a new security architecture based on multilateral cooperation, and called for strengthened South Korea-Japan cooperation to avert a new Cold War dynamic.
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US-Soviet Top-Down Trust-Building:
Lessons for the US-China Relationship
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In this report from APLN’s Asia Dialogue on China-US Relations series, Yu Tiejun analyses the process and lessons of three Cold War cases of top-down trust-building between the United States and the Soviet Union and discusses how they may be viewed from a Chinese perspective. He argues that the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 provides lessons for crisis management; the negotiations of the Incidents at Sea Agreement (INCSEA) in 1972 can provide models for security cooperation and confidence-building; and the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) negotiations in 1987 can give valuable insights into arms control negotiations.
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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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Chung-in Moon, APLN Vice Chair, wrote for Hankyoreh and compared the fundamental challenges facing Europe with those confronting South Korea, highlighting their shared imperative to achieve greater autonomy in defense and diplomacy amid rising threats.
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| Manpreet Sethi, APLN Senior Research Adviser, participated in a panel discussion with Reshmi Kazi and Debak Das, hosted by The Geostrata in partnership with the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, addressing the resurgence of the arms race, rising nuclear posturing, and the declining understanding of deterrence. |
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| Natalie Sambhi, Founder and Executive Director of Verve Research, was featured in the Straight Talk Southeast Asia podcast, where she discussed Indonesia’s civil-military relations and shared her observations on contemporary Indonesian politics with BRIN’s Wasisto Raharjo Jati. |
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| C. Raja Mohan, Visiting Professor at the National University of Singapore’s Institute of South Asian Studies, wrote for The Indian Express and noted that mediation has become the new language of power. Countries such as Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and increasingly China have inserted themselves into conflict resolution as Western power fragments and the UN weakens. |
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