| This week, Lim Eunjung reviews the Gyeongju Declaration and distills key insights from the 2025 APEC Summit. Wu Chunsi concludes that the recent Trump-Xi meeting in Busan raises expectations for improved China-US relations. And the APLN statement against the return to nuclear testing is now endorsed by over 80 senior figures across the Asia-Pacific. Finally, as Japan mulls reviewing its long-standing Three Non-Nuclear Principles, we relook at Hideo Asano‘s policy brief on the political risks from the potential deployment of the US sea-launched cruise missile to Japan.
As always, we highlight recent activities from our network, including the implications of US resumption of nuclear testing, Japan’s nuclear debate, China’s nuclear expansion and more. |
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When Diplomacy Still Works:
Reflections on the Gyeongju APEC Summit
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Lim Eunjung writes that despite global conflicts and rising protectionism, South Korea successfully hosted the 2025 APEC Summit in Gyeongju, achieving a number of diplomatic successes. The resulting Gyeongju Declaration reaffirmed APEC’s relevance by addressing new structural challenges beyond traditional trade, while bilateral talks between Presidents Trump and Xi underscored the summit’s importance. Ultimately, the summit offered a template for realistic multilateralism, reaffirming that dialogue and open economic exchange remain fundamental drivers of prosperity in the Asia-Pacific.
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The 2025 Busan Meeting: Setting New Expectations for China and the United States
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Wu Chunsi argues that the recent meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Busan, South Korea, raises expectations for improved China-US relations. The two leaders formally endorsed the Kuala Lumpur framework agreement on tariffs and export controls, agreed to maintain high-level communication, and committed to continuing the China-US Economic and Trade Consultation Mechanism. The consensus reached in Busan provides a foundation to manage differences and stabilise bilateral relations.
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A Return to Nuclear Testing Threatens Global Stability
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Over 80 Network Members have now endorsed APLN’s group statement, published earlier this month, warning that a return to nuclear testing threatens global stability, and urging action from the United States to clarify that it will not resume nuclear explosive testing. The statement calls upon US allies and partners to not facilitate, support, nor remain silent about resuming nuclear explosive testing and urges other nuclear-armed states to reaffirm their commitment to a nuclear testing moratorium.
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The SLCM-N and Japan’s Three Non-Nuclear Principles
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Hideo Asano examines the political risks that Japan faces from the potential deployment of the US sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N), particularly the domestic backlash over nuclear transits. He outlines five policy options for the Japanese government, ranging from strict prohibition to allowing, or even removing, the “no introduction” principle. Cautioning against eliminating this principle, he calls instead for a joint US–Japan review of the SLCM-N that considers security, arms control, and disarmament perspectives, and encourages regional efforts and public education about the humanitarian consequences of nuclear use.
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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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Rakesh Sood, former Permanent Representative of India to the UN Conference on Disarmament, published an op-ed in The Hindu, warning that if the US resumes explosive testing, Russia and China will follow, and countries like India and Pakistan will also likely resume testing to validate their warhead designs, leading to the demise of the CTBT and the unravelling of NPT regime.
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| Akira Kawasaki, Executive Committee Member of Peace Boat, published a critique of Prime Minister Takaichi’s suggestion to review Japan’s Three Non-Nuclear Principles, in The Chugoku Shimbun, reminding that the principles are a national policy rooted in Japan’s reflection on the sacrifices of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Okinawa and were established through a unanimous Diet resolution. |
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| APLN Senior Associate Fellows John Carlson and John Tilemann co-wrote an article for Pearls and Irritations on the APLN group statement which calls on President Trump to clarify that the United States will not resume nuclear explosive testing, and is endorsed by Gareth Evans, Robert Hill, and Larissa Waters among other senior network members. |
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| Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Resident Senior Fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), cautioned that persistent doubts about Washington’s extended deterrence commitment, especially if China achieves nuclear parity, could ultimately push Japan to develop its own nuclear weapons, forcing the global champion of a nuclear-free world to confront regional expansionism. |
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| Tong Zhao, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, was quoted in The Washington Post saying that “China is increasingly interested in acquiring the capability to manage nuclear escalation at the regional level…[It] has an incentive to develop lower-yield warheads, and that need may be part of what China is doing in the testing side.” |
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| Pramod Jaiwal, Research Director at Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement discussed the global implications, particularly those for South Asia, if the United States ends its de facto moratorium on explosive tests held since 1992, in a commentary for The Annapurna Express. |
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