Prospects for Nuclear Security Partnership in Southeast Asia - CNS

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ecome the first Southeast Asian state to introduce an operational nuclear powerplant.A final decision on introducing nuclear power in Malaysia is pending, althoughKuala Lumpur has set up the Nuclear Power Development Steering Committee(JPPKN) and three Working Committees to study the possibility. In June 2009,the Malaysian government issued a formal decision to evaluate nuclear energy asa possible source for electricity from the year 2020. One year later, the Malaysiaformally introduced a national nuclear policy. In January 2011, Prime MinisterNajib Razak announced the establishment of the Malaysian Nuclear PowerCorporation, which will lead the planning process. The final decision onintroducing nuclear power was expected to occur in 2013, but this could bedelayed, as Malaysian officials have indicated any decision will be dependentupon issuance of a full report on the events at Fukushima by the MalaysianNuclear Agency. Thailand had an ambitious plan, as set forth in its Power Development Plan 2010(2010 - 2030), to construct and bring into operation five NPPs by 2030; the firsttwo NPPs were to be built in 2020 and 2021, the third and fourth NPPs in 2024and 2025, and the fifth one in 2028. The Thai Nuclear Power ProgramDevelopment Office (NPPDO), under the Ministry of Energy, did a “selfevaluation”for the IAEA in 2010. Agency experts recommended to Bangkokauthorities that Thailand make essential improvements to its nuclear safety andhuman resources development. In April 2011, as an immediate consequence ofthe Fukushima crisis, the Thai government decided to delay the start of reactorconstruction by three years; as a result, the first reactor is unlikely to go on linebefore 2023. 3 This decision also pushed the construction timeline for the fifthreactor out beyond the current development plan timeframe, so the reviseddevelopment plan includes only four reactors.The Philippines is the only country in the region with a nuclear energy reactor,which has been sitting 90 percent finished since 1985. The government decidednot to launch the reactor owing to protests against nuclear energy as well as safetyconcerns. Recent reports from the Philippine government state that this plant isnot considered viable and is scheduled for dismantlement. Manila currently has noactive plans for nuclear energy development but the Philippine authorities are alsonot excluding nuclear energy in the future.Singapore has not committed to nuclear power development, but it continues tokeep it as an option, even after the events at Fukushima. In the fall of 2011,Singapore reaffirmed its interest in conducting a pre-feasibility study, with anexpectation of concluding the study in 2012. Due to its small land area, it isgenerally expected that if Singapore were to choose the nuclear power option, the3 Meeting Report (27 April 2011), National Energy Policy Committee,http://www.eppo.go.th/nepc/kpc/kpc-136.htm#2 (in Thai.)Page 6
city-state would have to partner with one of its neighbors—such as Malaysia orIndonesia.Myanmar has expressed interest in developing a research nuclear program, butthere have never been any official announcements suggesting that the countryplans to build nuclear power plants. The issue of nuclear development inMyanmar has garnered significant attention over the last few years, with someconcerns that their program could have military implications. In 2010, theMyanmar government announced that it did not plan to further develop researchnuclear program due to inadequate resources and concerns about potentialmisunderstandings about the program’s intent.Cambodia joined the IAEA in 2009 and is currently studying the possibility ofnuclear power. However, nuclear energy development is considered a distant, longtermoption.Laos became an IAEA member in September 2011. Laos’s interest in peacefuluse of nuclear energy and technology has related solely to medicine, agriculture,and environmental protection, not for power generation.Brunei is not an IAEA member and has no nuclear energy plans at present.Status of Enrichment and Reprocessing in the RegionAt present, countries in the region do not have any enrichment or reprocessing facilities.Vietnam and Indonesia, two of the region’s more advanced nuclear technology countries,have indicated their interest in returning irradiated nuclear materials to the country oforigin, which means that a nuclear fuel leasing arrangement could be an especiallyattractive option for Southeast Asian nuclear power plants. The Russian-Vietnameseagreement on the construction of the “Ninh Thuan-1” NPP says that the issue of spentnuclear fuel will be addressed later on, given that there will be no spent nuclear fuel toremove from Vietnam at least until 2025. Currently, national authorities return spent fuelfrom domestic research reactors to the fuel’s country of origin.The U.S. government and NGOs have raised concerns surrounding alleged nuclearactivities in Myanmar. Defectors from Myanmar’s army have claimed that a “nuclearbattalion” in the country is exploring the development of a uranium enrichment capabilityfor military use. 4 These claims remain the subject of considerable debate, but furtherillustrate the sensitivity surrounding development of any indigenous enrichment andreprocessing capabilities in the region. The decision of Myanmar’s government not to4 Robert E. Kelley and Ali Fowle, “Nuclear Related Activities in Burma,” Democratic Voice of Burmawebsite (report was prepared for DVB), May 2010, http://www.dvb.no/burmas-nuclear-ambitions/burmasnuclear-ambitions-nuclear/expert-analysis/9297.Page 7
Page 1: PROSPECTS FOR NUCLEAR SECURITYPARTN
Page 6 and 7: Much of the early nuclear developme
Page 11 and 12: stated clearly that Indonesia will
Page 13 and 14: TABLE 1. NUCLEAR INFRASTRUCTURE PRO
Page 15 and 16: Country Location Supplier Type/ Nam
Page 17 and 18: TABLE 3. HEU IN SOUTHEAST ASIACount
Page 19 and 20: CountryPhilippinesSingaporeThailand
Page 22 and 23: NUCLEAR SECURITY CHALLENGES INSOUTH
Page 24 and 25: in the region as well as a potentia
Page 26 and 27: (corrected)). 13 However, concerns
Page 28 and 29: creation of a Border Control Manage
Page 30 and 31: highlighted the shortage of experie
Page 32 and 33: (iii) Opportunities to participate
Page 34 and 35: eports, and has contributed to the
Page 36 and 37: Myanmar has established eight Borde
Page 38 and 39: Vietnamestablished controls for dom
Page 40 and 41: Customs Administration representati
Page 42 and 43: Despite the limitations evident wit
Page 44 and 45: counter-terrorism measures.” This
Page 46 and 47: cooperation are identified as the b
Page 48 and 49: autonomous national and regional nu
Page 50 and 51: Regional authorities have also note
Page 52 and 53: to the Port of Cebu in 2012. 35 In
Page 54 and 55: Southeast Asian countries, mostly i
Page 56 and 57: Nuclear Nonproliferation as well as
Page 58 and 59:
Sources/Notes: See the Model Additi
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launch a training center in 2013. I
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each countries’ comparative advan
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mostly at MEPhI and at training fac
Page 66 and 67:
Creation of model legislation shoul
Page 68 and 69:
such efforts into Southeast Asian c
Page 70 and 71:
infrastructure and culture. Encoura
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secure trade issues on the ASEAN an
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Prospects for Nuclear Security Partnership in Southeast Asia - CNS

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