Sun, Aug 07, 2005 page8

• A brief history of nuclear weapons

  • By Yuan Jing-dong 袁勁東
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  Yesterday marked the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the beginning of the end of the World War II. Within seconds, hundreds of thousands of people perished and thousands more continued to suffer from radiation-related illnesses in years to come. The two cities were reduced to rubble.

  Nuclear weapons, the most formidable and destructive weapons ever invented and then built by mankind, have cast a dark shadow over humanity for six decades. In the wake of the horrific explosions, the international community sought to bring the genie under control, if not put it back in the bottle, through the Baruch Plan. But the onset of the Cold War rendered this first nuclear arms control effort a futile one.

  Between 1949 and 1964, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, France and China all acquired nuclear weapons capabilities. The world lived under the danger of nuclear Armageddon as the US and the Soviet Union competed for primacy and each built huge nuclear arsenals.

  The 1962 Cuban Missile crisis and the concern over the spread of nuclear weapons to other countries led to the negotiation and conclusion of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968. Since its entry into force in 1970, the NPT has become the most inclusive and legally binding international treaty committing nations to forswear and eventually give up nuclear weapons.

  It helped persuade countries such as Argentina and Brazil to halt their nuclear weapons program; secured the accession of Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan as non-nuclear weapons states in the aftermath of the Soviet Union's breakup; and it saw South Africa give up its nuclear arsenal.

  But the treaty is facing serious challenges today. The NPT has yet to achieve universality as India, Pakistan and Israel -- three states that either have or are assumed to have nuclear weapons -- remain outside of the regime. In addition, North Korea's withdrawal from the treaty and Iran's controversial nuclear program have further undermined the international nuclear nonproliferation regime. And there is the growing threat of nuclear terrorism.

  Closer to home, East Asia remains a region with unresolved historical grievances, territorial disputes, divided nations and growing rivalry. Three nuclear weapons states have important -- and at times conflicting -- security interests in the region. Both Taiwan and South Korea in the past tinkered with the idea of acquiring nuclear weapons.

  Likewise, Japan also considered modifying its nuclear weapons policy at one time. A nuclear arms race is never a far-fetched scenario in this volatile geostrategic hotspot.

  On the anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it is all the more important to reinvigorate efforts to prevent such horror and destruction from occurring in our life time or in that of future generations. Several steps need to be taken.

  First, nuclear states must reconfirm their commitment to disarmament and establish a credible and realistic timetable toward that end. Serious negotiation should include all nuclear weapons states and the framework agreed upon must be legally binding and with enforceable and verifiable milestones and targets.

  Second, the use and threat of using nuclear weapons must be de-legitimized. Nuclear weapons states should adopt the no-first-use principle and re-pledge their security assurance to non-nuclear weapons states. Research and development of new types of nuclear weapons would only encourage countermeasures and hence lower the threshold for their use.

  Third, member states must re-define what is and what is not permissible peaceful nuclear use, in particular the critical phases of nuclear fuel cycle -- uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing -- that could contribute to development of nuclear weapons. In addition, the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) ability to conduct inspections and enforce compliance must be strengthened.

  Fourth, efforts must also be made to safeguard the security of nuclear facilities and materials to prevent acquisition and attacks by terrorist groups. UN Security Council Resolution 1540, which calls on member states to enforce national export controls to prevent terrorist access to items and technologies relevant to the development of weapons of mass destruction, needs to be fully implemented.

  Finally, the international community must address the issues of poverty and inequality, and inter-state disputes and rivalry, which are the sources of conflicts and armament, including the pursuit of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Confidence-building, peace and development can go a long way toward eliminating some of these woes.

  On a day of memory and prayers, the best way to ensure that the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will not be forgotten and are never allowed to happen again is to make every effort to prevent the future use of nuclear weapons, strengthen international nonproliferation efforts and strive for the ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons.

  Yuan Jing-dong is research director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies and an associate professor of international policy studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.
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