Year
2012
Abstract
This paper is dealing with the history of the regional safeguards cooperation efforts particularly in the regional area of the Asia-Pacific. This region implies very significant aspects in relation with nuclear energy, inter alia, in terms of military, political and economic reasons. The first and last employ to this time of nuclear weapons to real military conflict took place in the region. A significant majority of population, using nuclear energy for nuclear power plants, is located also in the region. Nuclear renaissance is taking place remarkably in this region. In this diverse context, the regional efforts for safeguards cooperation, titled as the Asia-Pacific Safeguards Network, was formed in the Asia-Pacific in 2009. This paper is focused on the backgrounds, process, status and prospective of the APSN, which was established in April 2009 at Seoul meeting. In the first part, we are going to touch the backgrounds and the process of the APSN establishment. In the second part, the main organization and activities will be dealt with, where specific differences among members might be described. The last part will touch a series of constructive ways for the progress of the regional endeavor.