Prospects for Nuclear Security Partnership in Southeast Asia - CNS

Safety is one of the key criteria for long-term success of nuclear energy development inthe region, particularly in light of the area’s developing infrastructure and propensity forlarge-scale natural disasters. Nuclear accidents elsewhere have heavily influencedpolitical opposition to nuclear power in the region, resulting in notable slowdowns indevelopment. As noted previously, the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl incidents bothcontributed to Manila’s abandonment of the Bataan NPP. Likewise, the more recent crisisat Fukushima appears to have affected, or at least slowed, nuclear development plansunder consideration in most regional capitals, with the possible exception of Vietnam.The impact of Fukushima continues to reverberate across Southeast Asia, as the regionhas itself experienced major earthquakes and tsunamis within the past decade, along withvolcanic eruptions, flooding, and other natural disasters. Nonetheless, the plans describedin this chapter have not been cancelled, and if Vietnam enjoys success in viable nuclearpower generation, the slowdown may prove temporary, as other states may followHanoi’s lead. Accordingly, with development of nuclear energy and nuclear-relatedindustries likely to continue, understanding the current and future state of nuclear securityin the region becomes even more essential. Our next chapter therefore aims to shed lighton this picture. Terrorism, maritime piracy, and proliferation-related illicit traffickingnetworks are challenge, already present in the region that will be considered – keeping inmind that the energy and industrial developments described here add urgency tocountering such threats.Page 10