Asia and non-proliferation after the Cold War: Issues, challenges and strategies

This article highlights some of the most worrisome proliferation issues in Asia, in particular in light of the Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests in May 1998, and discusses their implications for regional security and stability. It suggests that the current non-proliferation regimes are hampered in carrying out their mandates effectively because they face three sets of serious challenges in the post-Cold War security environment: The growing number of suppliers and the difficulties in norm building, globalization and technological diffusion, and the inadequacy of institutional responses and reforms. It argues that for the existing non-proliferation regimes to be move effective, strong and skilled political leadership, the necessary institutional reforms, and institution building are required. More importantly, efforts must also be made to develop fair, effective, and verifiable mechanisms under strong political leadership and through multilateral channels both to deal with the immediate proliferation concerns and to address the underlining security, commercial, and political causes of weapons proliferation. A successful strategy should therefore be one that is both holistic in approach (i.e., addressing symptoms and causes) and synergetic in execution (i.e., better coordination of efforts and policies in global, multilateral, and domestic contexts).