Over 60 APLN members have signed and endorsed APLN’s group statement warning that a return to nuclear testing threatens global stability, and urging action from the United States to clarify that they will not resume nuclear explosive testing. The statement calls upon US allies and partners to make clear that they will not support, facilitate, or remain silent about any proposal to resume nuclear explosive testing and urges other nuclear-armed states to reaffirm their commitment to a nuclear testing moratorium.

The statement follows US President Trump‘s announcement, on 30 October 2025, to resume nuclear testing. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his officials to draft proposals for a possible commencement of nuclear weapons tests.

The statement is issued in the names of the undersigned members of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN). The full statement is available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese.

*****

APLN Group Statement 

A Return to Nuclear Testing Threatens Global Stability 

As members of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network, we are deeply concerned about President Trump’s announcement to resume nuclear testing and the ambiguity over whether the United States will proceed with nuclear explosive testing. This would be a dangerous departure from nearly three decades of global consensus against nuclear explosive testing, threatening the stability of the Asia-Pacific region and irrevocably damaging the global non-proliferation regime that has prevented nuclear use since 1945. 

The Asia-Pacific region already faces complex territorial disputes, intractable conflicts and competition between major powers and nuclear-armed rivals. The Pacific region still bears the scars of nuclear weapons testing. Communities from the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, French Polynesia, and other Pacific territories still suffer from the devastating health and environmental consequences of Cold War tests. In South Australia, nuclear tests were conducted on Aboriginal lands, exposing communities to deadly radiation, contaminating ancestral lands and destroying sacred sites. In Northeast Asia, the Hibakusha – the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings – have lived with the catastrophic consequences of nuclear weapons use for generations. President Trump’s decision ignores and dismisses this painful history and the voices of those who have survived. It also signals a willingness to sacrifice global security for narrow strategic calculations. We categorically reject this approach. 

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was a significant achievement in arms control, building on earlier limited restrictions on nuclear testing. While not yet in force, it is in operation at various levels, most notably through its global monitoring system. It has been signed by 187 countries with 178 ratifications. This near-universal support reflects a shared understanding that nuclear testing makes the world less safe, not more secure. It accelerates arms races and increases the risk of miscalculation. It is for this reason that an explosive nuclear testing moratorium has been internationally upheld since 1998, with one exception, the DPRK. No other state, whether it possesses nuclear weapons or not, has seen the resumption of nuclear testing as in its national or global security interest. While the DPRK is the lone holdout in this regard, its pro-testing stance has contributed to its global isolation.  

Resuming nuclear testing introduces instability at a time when we need restraint and dialogue. It provides justification for nations considering their own nuclear weapons programs. It fractures the international consensus that has constrained nuclear competition for three decades. 

We call on the US to clarify that it is not resuming nuclear explosive testing, and for all leaders to be circumspect in how they discuss nuclear weapons issues. We call on US allies and partners to make clear that they will not support, facilitate, or remain silent about any proposal to resume nuclear explosive testing. To other nuclear-armed states, we say this: reaffirm your commitment to the testing moratorium. The international community must speak with one voice: nuclear testing belongs in the past, not in our future.  

The Asia-Pacific has witnessed the true costs of nuclear testing. We carry its burdens still. We will oppose any effort to normalise the testing and use of these weapons of indiscriminate destruction.

SIGNATORIES:

AUSTRALIA

• John Carlson, former Director-General of the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office and founding Chair of the Asia-Pacific Safeguards Network. 
• Simon Chesterman, Dean and Provost’s Chair Professor of the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law and Senior Director of AI Governance at AI Singapore. 
• Gareth Evans, former Foreign Minister.  
• Marianne Hanson, Associate Professor of International Relations, Honorary Professor, University of Queensland. 
• Peter Hayes, Director of the Nautilus Institute, Honorary Professor at the Center for International Security Studies at Sydney University.  
• Cathy Moloney, Board Member of Women in Nuclear Australia. 
• Melissa Parke, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). 
• Maria Rost Rublee, Professor of International Relations at the University of Melbourne. 
• Ramesh Thakur, Emeritus Professor in the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. 
• John Tilemann, former diplomat in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East and former Chief of Staff to Directors General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Dr. Hans Blix and Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei.

CHINA

• Hu Yumin, Council Member & Senior Research Fellow at CACDA (China Arms and Disarmament Association) and Senior Research Fellow at Grandview Institute.
• Shen Dingli, former Executive Dean of Institute of International Studies, and former Director of Center for American Studies of Fudan University. 

FIJI 

• Sandra Tarte, Associate Professor and Acting Head, School of Law and Social Sciences, University of the South Pacific, Suva. 

INDIA

• C Uday Bhaskar, retired Indian Navy Commodore, Director of the Society for Policy Studies (SPS). 
• Lalit Mansingh, former Foreign Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, former High Commissioner of India to the UK, Nigeria, and former Ambassador to the US. 
• C Raja Mohan, Senior Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute and Visiting Professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. 
• Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Resident Senior Fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).
• Shyam Saran, former Foreign Secretary of India and former Chairman of the National Security Advisory Board; President of the India International Centre, New Delhi. 
• Manpreet Sethi, APLN Senior Research Adviser and Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Aerospace Power and Strategic Studies (CAPSS). 
• Amit Sharma, former Commander in Chief of India’s Strategic Forces Command. 

INDONESIA 

• Marty Natalegawa, Chair of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network, and former Foreign Minister of Indonesia.  

JAPAN 

• Nobuyasu Abe, former United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, former Director-General for Arms Control and Science Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
• Kawasaki Akira, Executive Committee Member, Peace Boat. 
• Kiichi Fujiwara, Professor of International Politics and Southeast Asian Studies in the Graduate Schools of Law and Politics at the University of Tokyo. 
• Kazuko Ito, Lawyer, Vice President, Human Rights Now.
• Mitsuru Kitano, Executive Adviser, Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR), Former Director-General for Disarmament at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Michiru Nishida, APLN Senior Research Adviser and Network Member and Professor, School of Global Humanities and Social Sciences, Nagasaki University, and former Special Advisor for Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
• Ota Masakatsu, Senior and Editorial writer at Kyodo News, Visiting Professor of Waseda University and Nagasaki University. 
• Suzuki Tatsujiro, President of Peace Depot and Visiting Professor at the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA); former Vice Chairman of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission. 
• Noboru Yamaguchi, Lieutenant General (retired) of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. 
• Fumihiko Yoshida, Director of the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA). 

KIRIBATI 

• Tessie Eria Lambourne, I-Kiribati civil servant, diplomat, and politician and former Kiribati Ambassador to the Republic of China 

MALAYSIA 

• Hasmy Agam, former Chairman of the Malaysian Commission on Human Rights, Former Ambassador from Malaysia to the UN.  

MARSHALL ISLANDS

• Rhea Moss-Christian, former Chair, Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission. 

MONGOLIA

• Enkhsaikhan Jargalsaikhan, Chairman of Blue Banner and former Mongolia Ambassador to the UN. 

NEPAL 

• Pramod Jaiswal, Research Director at the Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement 

NEW ZEALAND AOTEAROA

• Kevin Clements, Director of the Toda Peace Institute, and was the Foundation Chair of Peace and Conflict Studies and Director of the New Zealand Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.  
• Kate Dewes, Former Director Disarmament and Security Centre (New Zealand) and member of UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters.  
• Dell Higgie, Former Global Ambassador for Disarmament, and Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the Conference on Disarmament.  
• Tanya Ogilvie-White, APLN Senior Research Adviser. 
• Angela Woodward, Board Member of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network. 

PAKISTAN 

• Rabia Akhtar, Dean Social Sciences and Director Center for Security, Strategy and Policy Research, University of Lahore.  
• Salman Bashir, former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan and as the High Commissioner of Pakistan to India. 
• Pervez Hoodbhoy, Department of Physics, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad. 
• Feroz Khan, former Brigadier-General in the Pakistan Army, former Director Arms Control and Disarmament Affairs in Strategic Plans Division, Joint Services Headquarters.  
• Abdul H. Nayyar, Retired Associate Professor of Physics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. 
• Adil Sultan, Dean Faculty of Aerospace and Strategic Studies at the Air University, Islamabad.  
• Sadia Tasleem, Lecturer at Quaid-i-Azam University’s Department of Defense and Strategic Studies in Islamabad. 

PHILIPPINES 

• Mely Caballero-Anthony, Board Member of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network. 

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

• Cheong Wooksik, Director of Peace Network and Director of the Hankyoreh Institute of Peace. 
• Choi Jong Kun, Professor at the Department of Political Science and International Studies at Yonsei University. 
• Kim Won-soo, former Under Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs of the United Nations.
• Lee Sang-Hyun, Senior Research Fellow at the Sejong Institute, Board member of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management-Korea (INMM-K). 
• Moon Chung-in, Vice-Chair of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network, former Special Adviser of National Security and Foreign Affairs to the President. 
• Man-Sung Yim, Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Director, Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) Texas A&M University.

SINGAPORE 

• Sarah Teo, Member of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network.

SRI LANKA

• Malinda Meegoda, former Research Associate at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKI). 
• Hewa Matara Gamage Siripala Palihakkara, former Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka and Former Ambassador and Permanent Representative to UN. 

THAILAND 

• Sawanit Kongsiri, Thai Red Cross Council member and former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thailand. 
• Kasit Piromya, former Thai Ambassador to the Soviet Union-Russia Federation, Indonesia, Germany, Japan and the United States.
• Kitti Wasinondh, former Ambassador of Thailand to the United Kingdom. 

Korean Translation

아시아태평양 리더십 네트워크 공동성명

핵실험 재개가 세계적 안정을 위협한다

아시아태평양 리더십 네트워크 일원으로서 우리는 트럼프 대통령의 핵실험 재개 발표와 미국이 핵폭발 실험을 진행할지 여부에 대한 모호함에 깊은 우려를 표한다. 이는 핵폭발 실험 반대라는 30년 가까이 이어져 온 국제적 합의에서 위험한 이탈로, 아시아태평양 지역의 안정을 위협하고 1945년 이후 핵 사용을 막아온 글로벌 비확산 체제를 돌이킬 수 없게 훼손할 것이다.

아시아-태평양 지역은 이미 복잡한 영토 분쟁, 해결하기 어려운 갈등, 주요 강대국과 핵무장 경쟁국 간의 경쟁에 직면해 있다. 태평양 지역은 여전히 핵무기 실험의 상처를 안고 있다. 마셜 제도, 키리바시, 프랑스령 폴리네시아 및 기타 태평양 지역 사회는 냉전 시대 핵실험으로 인한 파괴적인 건강 및 환경 후유증으로 여전히 고통받고 있다. 남호주에서는 원주민 땅에서 핵실험이 진행되어 지역사회를 치명적인 방사선에 노출시키고 조상의 땅을 오염시키며 성지를 파괴했다. 동북아시아에서는 히로시마와 나가사키 원폭 투하 생존자들인 피폭자들이 핵무기 사용의 참혹한 결과를 대를 이어 겪어왔다. 트럼프 대통령의 결정은 이 고통스러운 역사와 생존자들의 목소리를 무시하고 배제한다. 또한 좁은 전략적 계산만을 위해 글로벌 안보를 희생하려는 의지를 드러낸다. 우리는 이러한 접근 방식을 단호히 거부한다.

포괄적 핵실험 금지 조약(CTBT)은 핵실험에 대한 기존 제한을 바탕으로 한 군비 통제의 중요한 성과였다. 아직 발효되지는 않았으나, 특히 전지구적 감시 체계를 통해 다양한 수준에서 운영 중이다. 187개국이 서명했으며 178개국이 비준했다. 이처럼 거의 보편적인 지지는 핵실험이 세계를 더 안전하게 만드는 것이 아니라 오히려 덜 안전하게 만든다는 공통된 인식의 반영이다. 핵실험은 군비 경쟁을 가속화하고 오판의 위험을 증가시킨다. 바로 이러한 이유로 1998년 이후 북한을 제외한 모든 국가가 핵실험 중단을 국제적으로 준수해 왔다. 핵무기 보유 여부와 상관없이 그 어떤 국가도 핵실험 재개가 자국 또는 글로벌 안보에 이익이 된다고 판단하지 않는다. 북한이 유일하게 이 원칙을 거부하고 있지만, 핵실험 지지 입장은 오히려 북한의 국제적 고립을 심화시키는 결과를 낳았다.

핵실험 재개는 자제와 대화가 필요한 시점에 불안정성을 초래한다. 이는 자국 핵무기 프로그램을 고려 중인 국가들에게 명분을 제공한다. 이는 30년간 핵 경쟁을 억제해 온 국제적 합의를 훼손한다.

우리는 미국이 핵폭발 실험을 재개하지 않을 것임을 명확히 할 것을 촉구하며, 모든 지도자들이 핵무기 문제를 논의하는 방식에 신중을 기할 것을 요구한다. 우리는 미국의 동맹국 및 협력국들에게 핵폭발 실험 재개 제안에 대해 지지하거나 용이하게 하거나 묵인하지 않을 것임을 분명히 할 것을 촉구한다. 다른 핵무기 보유국들에게 우리는 이렇게 말한다: 실험 중단 약속을 재확인하라. 국제사회는 한 목소리로 말해야 한다: 핵실험은 과거에 속할 뿐, 우리의 미래에 있을 수 없다.

아시아-태평양 지역은 핵실험의 참된 대가를 목격해 왔다. 우리는 여전히 그 짐을 지고 있다. 우리는 이러한 무차별적 파괴 무기의 실험과 사용을 정상화하려는 어떠한 시도에도 반대할 것이다.

Japanese Translation 

アジア太平洋リーダーシップ・ネットワーク声明

核実験再開は世界の安定を脅かす

 

アジア太平洋リーダーシップ・ネットワークのメンバーとして、我々はトランプ大統領による核実験再開の発表、およびアメリカが核爆発実験を実施するか否かに関する曖昧な姿勢に深い懸念を抱いている。これは核爆発実験に反対する約30年にわたる国際的合意からの危険な逸脱であり、アジア太平洋地域の安定を脅かし、1945年以来核兵器の使用を防いできた国際的な核不拡散体制に取り返しのつかない損害を与えるものである。

アジア太平洋地域は既に、複雑な領土問題、解決困難な紛争、主要国や核保有国間の競争に直面している。太平洋地域は今も核実験の傷跡を背負っている。マーシャル諸島、キリバス、フランス領ポリネシア、その他の太平洋地域のコミュニティは、冷戦時代の核実験による壊滅的な健康被害と環境破壊に苦しんでいる。南オーストラリアでは先住民の土地で核実験が行われ、コミュニティは致死的な放射線に晒され、祖先の土地は汚染され、聖地は破壊された。北東アジアでは、広島・長崎の原子爆弾投下生存者である被爆者たちが、核兵器使用の壊滅的な結果を何世代にもわたり背負い続けてきた。トランプ大統領の決定は、この痛ましい歴史と生存者の声を無視し軽視するものである。また、狭隘な戦略的計算のために世界の安全保障を犠牲にする意思を示している。我々はこの方針を断固として拒否する。

包括的核実験禁止条約（CTBT）は、核実験に対する従来の限定的な規制を基盤とした軍備管理における重要な成果である。まだ発効していないものの、特に世界規模の監視システムを通じて、様々なレベルで運用されている。187カ国が署名し、178カ国が批准している。この普遍的な支持は、核実験が世界の安全を損なうものであり、決して強化しないという共通認識を反映している。核実験は軍拡競争を加速させ、誤算のリスクを高める。このため1998年以降、北朝鮮を除く全ての国が核実験の自粛を国際的に維持してきた。核兵器保有国・非保有国を問わず、核実験再開が自国または世界の安全保障上の利益になると判断した国は存在しない。北朝鮮がこの点で唯一の例外であるが、その核実験推進姿勢は国際的な孤立を招いている。

核実験の再開は、自制と対話が必要な時期に不安定要素をもたらす。自国の核兵器計画を検討する国々に正当化の口実を与える。30年にわたり核競争を抑制してきた国際的な合意を分断する。

アメリカに対し、核爆発実験を再開しないことを明確にするよう求めるとともに、全ての指導者が核兵器問題について議論する際には慎重であるべきだ。アメリカの同盟国・パートナー諸国に対し、核爆発実験再開のいかなる提案も支持せず、助長せず、黙認しないことを明確にするよう求める。他の核保有国にはこう訴える：実験モラトリアムへのコミットメントを再確認せよ。国際社会は一致団結して声を上げねばならない：核実験は過去のものであり、未来に属するものではない。

アジア太平洋地域は核実験の真の代償を目の当たりにしてきた。我々はその重荷を今も背負っている。無差別破壊兵器である核兵器の実験と使用を正常化しようとするいかなる試みにも反対する。