As nuclear tensions ratchet up, Asia’s embrace of atomic power offers hope

Nearly eight decades since nuclear weapons were first used in anger against Japan, world leaders are now worried the once-unthinkable may come to pass
While calls for complete disarmament are a fantasy, atomic technology can be used for good – as Singapore and the Philippines are finding out

Bhavan Jaipragas

Published: 8:30am, 12 Aug, 2022

Why you can trust SCMP

Japan this past week marked 77 years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki became the first, and so far only, cities to be attacked with atomic bombs: an anniversary that had renewed relevance this year given the tense geopolitical environment we currently find ourselves in.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to put his country’s nuclear forces on “high alert” in late February – soon after his invasion of Ukraine – has raised fears among the international community that such weapons might again be used for the first time since 1945.

We are now living in an era where once-unthinkable nuclear conflict is back in the realm of possibility, as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted last week in his opening remarks at the long-delayed 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

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It is vital that all 191 nations who are party to that treaty renew their commitments to enforcing it.

Guterres’ wish for complete disarmament is a fantasy, but we can still work towards a place where all nuclear powers “conduct themselves responsibly”, as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for in his remarks to the conference.

We can also promote the peaceful use of atomic energy – one of the non-proliferation treaty’s other objectives. Here in Asia, we are already seeing this happening and it should be welcomed.

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Singapore, which once viewed nuclear energy development as impossible given its small size, now seems to be considering it as a credible alternative to fossil fuels.

A report published this year by the city state’s Energy Market Authority forecast that Singapore would have a clear idea on domestic nuclear energy generation “by the 2040s” if small modular reactors (SMRs) being deployed elsewhere proved to be safe and effective.

The Philippines, under new president Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, could move even sooner as he seeks to revive a mothballed nuclear plant first commissioned by his late dictator father.

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Such positive moves not only advance the spirit of the treaty, they also hint at how the broader safe use of nuclear power could counteract soaring fuel prices sent higher by Russia’s actions.

Surely the global scaling back of nuclear power usage in the aftermath of 2011’s Fukushima disaster must now be seen as a mistake. SMRs and other emergent technologies can and should be harnessed to secure our long-term energy security as we wean ourselves off filthy fossil fuels.