| This week, as part of our ongoing work on advancing Nuclear Fail-Safe in the Asia-Pacific, APLN, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and Grandview Institution (GVI) co-hosted the second China-US Nuclear Fail-Safe Dialogue in Beijing. We also held a series of side meetings with government agencies and academic organizations to exchange views with Chinese experts on nuclear safety and security concerns, the scope of US fail-safe reviews, China’s evolving understanding of fail-safe, and potential pathways to advance global fail-safe mechanisms.
As always, we highlight recent activities from our network, including analyses on measures to revamp the UN structure, inter-Korean relations, the Gaza ceasefire agreement, Vietnam’s foreign policy, and more. |
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On 11-12 October, 2025, APLN, NTI and Grandview Institution (GVI) co-hosted the second China-US Nuclear Fail-Safe Dialogue in Beijing. Building on the conceptual discussions at the first year of the dialogue, this year’s meeting featured more practical, rigorous, and forward-looking exchanges. Delegates examined institutional frameworks, compared regulatory frameworks and risk environments, and discussed shared interests and potential cooperation pathways between China, the United States, and other nuclear-armed states, on fail-safe mechanisms.
The US delegation was led by Sam Nunn, former U.S. Senator, and Ernest Moniz, former U.S. Secretary of Energy. APLN members Kim Won-soo, Shen Dingli, Wu Riqiang, Senior Research Adviser Frank O’Donnell and Policy Fellow Fang Liu participated in the workshop. This project is supported by a grant from the NTI.
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The APLN and NTI delegations held a series of high-level meetings in Beijing. On 13 October, the delegation visited China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Department of the CPC, and held in-depth and candid discussions with senior officials. The delegation was accompanied by Ren Libo, President of the Grandview Institution, and Zhang Yi, Senior Research Fellow at the institute.
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The delegation also met with experts from the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE) and the Horizon Insights Center to discuss the safe and secure peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology, as well as perspectives from Chinese scientists on fail-safe reviews.
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On 14 October, APLN members Li Bin and Wu Riqiang joined the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University (CISS) to meet with NTI and APLN delegation. They discussed issues of mutual concern, including nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, as well as the evolving global and regional security landscape, while exploring avenues for continued collaboration.
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On 16 October, the delegation travelled to Shanghai and met with experts from Fudan University and the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS). Experts exchanged perspectives on managing stability amid nuclear and global strategic shifts and discussed key lessons from the May 2025 India-Pakistan crisis and evaluated key challenges to prevent accidental escalation in the US-China relationship. Participants explored opportunities to strengthen future collaboration.
SIIS President and APLN member Chen Dongxiao, APLN Senior Research Adviser Frank O’Donnell and Policy Fellow Fang Liu attended the meeting.
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APLN expresses deep sorrow over the death of our senior network member, James Brendan (Jim) Bolger, on Wednesday 15 October 2025, at the age of 90.
Jim Bolger served as the 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997 and was a Member of Parliament for the National Party from 1972 to 1998. In 1998, he was appointed as New Zealand’s Ambassador to the United States, a role which he held until 2002. Bolger was also the former chairman of New Zealand’s Kiwibank and former Chancellor of the University of Waikato. He was a pre-eminent statesman whose legacy has shaped New Zealand’s domestic and foreign policy in historic ways.
As leader of the Opposition, Bolger steered the National Party to change its stance and support New Zealand’s nuclear-free policy as instituted by the Labour government, led by David Lange. This support solidified New Zealand’s commitment to nuclear disarmament, codified in 1987, and the prohibition on nuclear-armed or powered vessels entering New Zealand’s territorial waters. As the Prime Minister of New Zealand, his government also strongly condemned the resumption of French nuclear testing on the Moruroa atoll in French Polynesia. Bolger recognised the public mood and the long-term benefits that the anti-nuclear policy provided New Zealand, and continued to strongly support the policy throughout his premiership from 1990 to 1997 and thereafter in public life.
APLN honours the life and legacy of Jim Bolger and passes our sincere condolences to his family and friends at this time.
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APLN has over 170 members from 23 countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Each week we feature their latest contributions
to global and regional security debates.
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| Kim Won-soo, former Under Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs of the United Nations, wrote for China Daily and suggested that to remain relevant and effective, the UN must be renewed by recovering global consensus, redefining its purpose to include planetary peace and security, and revamping its institutional structures to enable inclusive, multilayered global governance. |
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| Cheong Wook-sik, Director of the Hankyoreh Peace Institute and Director of the Peace Network, noted that attempting to meet the conditions for OPCON transfer has thus far led North Korea to dig in its heels on its nuclear program, a peace treaty might present a viable solution to the intractable dilemma. |
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| C Uday Bhaskar, Director of the Society for Policy Studies (SPS), New Delhi, wrote for The Tribune on the Gaza ceasefire agreement, arguing that the Trump-brokered deal should be cautiously welcomed for a humanitarian reason. |
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| Eunjung Lim, Professor at the Division of International Studies at Kongju National University, spoke at the Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF), co-hosted by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). |
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| Hoang Thi Ha, Senior Fellow and Co-coordinator of the Regional Strategic and Political Studies Programme at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, co-wrote a paper with Pham Thi Phuong Thao on Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary To Lam’s foreign policy leadership, highlighting his pragmatic multi-alignment approach – maintaining close ties with China and Russia while engaging Washington and other major powers with equal vigour to advance national interests. |
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