| In this update, John Carlson and John Tilemann examine how delayed contributions from major powers are weakening the IAEA at a critical moment, while C Uday Bhaskar makes the case that China’s own Global Security Initiative could, if operationalised, help close the gap between Beijing’s nuclear capabilities and its contribution to nuclear risk reduction.
Our weekly roundup of member activities features analysis on the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict, US-China relations, the BRICS summit, and more. |
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Funding Crisis Leaves UN Nuclear Watchdog Begging for Resources
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The IAEA is struggling to fund its core mission. John Carlson and John Tilemann show how delayed contributions from major funders, led by the United States and China, are forcing the agency to lean on voluntary extrabudgetary funding to carry out essential work on nuclear safeguards, safety and security. That shift, they warn, risks handing major donors disproportionate influence over the agency’s priorities at precisely the moment when the nuclear order is under the most strain. They call for full and timely payment of assessed contributions and a broader rethink of the “zero-growth” approach that has constrained international organisations for decades.
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From Principles to Practice: Using the Global Security Initiative and the Kunming Forum to Advance Nuclear Risk Reduction
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China’s nuclear arsenal is expanding faster than any other P5 state’s, yet Beijing’s institutional contribution to nuclear risk reduction remains limited. In this policy brief, C Uday Bhaskar argues that China’s own Global Security Initiative (GSI) offers a ready-made framework to close that gap, if it moves beyond principles to operational commitments. He proposes a four-step agenda, from analytical groundwork and confidence-building measures through No First Use norm entrepreneurship to regional safety dialogues, and identifies the Kunming Forum, China’s established Track-1.5/Track-2 platform with South and Southeast Asia, as the place to test and refine these ideas before they enter state policy. Originally presented at the Forum’s July 2026 meeting, the brief makes the case that nuclear stability is the logical next frontier for both the GSI and the scholarly community that convenes around it.
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APLN has over 190 members from 26 countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Each week, we feature their latest contributions
to global and regional security debates.
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| Pankaj Saran, former Deputy National Security Adviser of India, wrote for The Economic Times, highlighting that India’s hosting of the expanded BRICS summit signals a confident, multipolar foreign policy that serves as a non-western platform for dialogue rather than an anti-Western bloc. |
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| Rabia Akhtar, founding Director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Policy Research at the University of Lahore, was featured in Express News to discuss what the Makkah Defence Alliance may represent beyond the headlines: an effort by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye to institutionalize regional security cooperation, strengthen collective deterrence, and create greater strategic room for manoeuvre. |
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| Da Wei, Director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, wrote for Foreign Affairs, arguing that China and the US should establish a pragmatic framework of “constructive strategic stability” to manage competitive differences, avoid catastrophic military conflict, and secure long-term bilateral equilibrium. |
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| Hoang Thi Ha, Senior Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, co-wrote a paper with Pham Thi Phuong Thao, observing that young Vietnamese are increasingly drawn directly and intimately into China’s orbit of culture and opportunity, while retaining the instinct to resist its power when national interests collide. |
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