Paul K. Davis, Professor at Pardee RAND Graduate School, says the Ukraine war has made the range of nuclear-use cases in Northeast Asia, including a limited nuclear war, even more plausible. The war has also upset the calculus of all the actors in the region; China may perceive greater risks in an attempted invasion of Taiwan, while South Korea and Japan may seek ways to strengthen US nuclear guarantees, further heightening tensions.

Renee Moorjani, Barrister/Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand, explores how civil society reduced nuclear dangers in the past and can continue to do so in the future. Despite the current atmosphere of rising nuclear risks, she says now is not the time to despair but rather to recognize opportunities for action, such as a push for the successful ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).

Michiru Nishida, Professor at RECNA-Nagasaki University, highlights the key cross-cutting and technical lessons from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. Among other realities unveiled by the crisis, he says Fukushima showed the critical importance of transparency in the midst of emergencies, maintaining international cooperation, and fostering a culture of nuclear safety with far greater consideration for low frequency/high impact events (such as tsunamis).

Tong Zhao, an APLN board member, analyzes the underlying factors affecting substantive arms control cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. He says Washington and Beijing “bear a special responsibility” in securing and maintaining peace; unfortunately, both sides appear “increasingly disillusioned about the prospect of achieving common security.”

Amir Hamzah Mohd Nasir, a diplomat with the Multilateral Security Division of Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, looks at preparatory work ahead of the 11^th NPT Review Conference. He says negotiators must come to a solid realization that the business-as-usual approach will no longer work as combating proliferation in the Asia-Pacific requires substantive progress on disarmament. He argues that much hinges on ASEAN successfully solidifying the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Treaty.