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As I see it | 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
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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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‘A nuclear war cannot be won': UN talks non-proliferation as North Korean test looms
‘A nuclear war cannot be won': UN talks non-proliferation as North Korean test looms
It is vital that all 191 nations who are party to that treaty renew their commitments to enforcing it.
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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.
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.
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