Strengthening Non-Proliferation Efforts in Asia

The author stated that the global non-proliferation regime in the 21st Century should be established and implemented based on the concepts of “defence-in-depth” and “pluralism” in the author’s previous papers. The global non-proliferation regime should consist four layers, namely international layer, regional layer, bilateral layer and unilateral (or national) layer. These four layers will compose collectively a strong defence-in-depth measure against proliferation of nuclear weapons. Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material are some examples of the international layer. Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaties (NWFZ), EURATOM and ABACC are examples of regional layer. Many governmental nuclear cooperation agreements contain various bilateral control measures, which can be said as bilateral layer. Nuclear Supplier’ Guidelines (NSG, INFCIRC/254), Physical Protection Guidelines (IAEA, INFCIRC/225) and Plutonium Guidelines (INFCIRC/549) are considered as combination of international and national layer, since their establishment were made by multinational or international bodies, but their implementation relies on the national level. The Cold-War structure is still remaining in Asia. Divided nations exist in the region. Also, there are communist nations in Asia. Furthermore, this region have proliferation concerned nation and sub-area. DPRK and South-Asia are such cases. Therefore, non-proliferation measures in this region is believed to be very important. The author will describe in this paper four recommendations to assist furtherance of regional non-proliferation efforts. These are summarized as follows; (1) an establishment of nuclear material protection, control and accounting (MPC&A) measures in each nations, and formation of a loose forum for information exchange and R&D activities on the MPC&A, (2) an establishment of a non-proliferation research center as a non-governmental body in Asia, (3) strengthening of the activities on the confidence building measures in Asia supported by CSCAP and ARF, and (4) more active utilization of NGO like WANO, Uranium Institute to promote non-proliferation consideration in Asia.