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Marine plastic pollution has worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic. Nuclear technology provides a sustainable and scientific approach to tackling this environmental problem. Can it help Southeast Asian countries battle plastic pollution?

Many countries are still struggling to expand their testing capability to diagnose more potential COVID-19 patients amidst shortage of detection kits. A nuclear-derived detection technique recently developed by the IAEA may be a promising method if more widely used by governments around the world. This highlights the peaceful application of nuclear science in public health.

As Southeast Asian countries are gradually reopening their economies in the face of a pandemic, there is a need to ensure safety and health at the workplace. While there is the medical approach to prevention, containment and mitigation of pandemics, there is also the non-medical approach, which encompasses a number of safety measures, practices, and behaviours intended to minimise contagion risk at workplaces. A culture of prevention at the workplace needs to be institutionalised. This NTS Insight argues that adopting key principles and best practices in building a strong nuclear safety culture may help prevent the further spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases at workplaces. It examines how best practices and policies in promoting a nuclear safety culture can be applied in integrating a culture of prevention with occupational health and safety management in Southeast Asia, so that workplaces can be kept safe amidst a pandemic.

Non-traditional security (NTS) issues continue to threaten the well-being of nations and communities in Asia and around the world. National governments alone cannot solve the multifaceted problems associated with NTS, ranging from climate change and disasters to mass movement of people in search of refuge and safety. Given that traditional multilateralism is in retreat, a more sustainable approach to multilateral cooperation is critically needed, requiring the collaborative participation and engagement of multiple stakeholders from local communities, civil society organisations, the private sector, governments, regional organisations, and other international agencies. The Annual Conference of the Consortium of Non-Traditional Security in Asia (NTS-Asia),1 held in Singapore on 25 and 26 March 2019, examined the relevance of multi-stakeholder collaboration in facilitating efforts to address a number of NTS challenges including, among others, (i) irregular and forced migration; (ii) economic inequality; (iii) environmental degradation; (iv) digital threats; and (v) social friction.

The Philippines and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Cooperation on Oil and Gas Development, demonstrating their willingness to explore joint development as a pathway to collaboration, notwithstanding their territorial disputes. Recent commentaries on joint development are mostly framed on legal challenges, South China Sea (SCS) rows, geopolitics, and state-centric security issues. However, there have been no extensive discussions on the potential contributions from non-state stakeholders that can make joint development agreements environmentally sound, sustainable, and less political. These stakeholders are the oil companies, fishermen and coastal communities. In this regard, this NTS Insight explores potential roles of these stakeholders in promoting joint initiatives to share and develop resources in the SCS. It argues that the engagement and participation of non-state stakeholders in resource sharing and joint management must be pursued to address key non-traditional security challenges in the SCS. It also examines mechanisms to integrate marine environmental protection and sustainable fishing management into joint development agreements.

Marine environmental protection (MEP) in the South China Sea may hold the key to building mutual trust and confidence among claimant states. ASEAN together with China may form a cooperative management framework with MEP as one of its main pillars.

Marine plastic pollution poses a serious threat to the global marine ecosystem, according to a recent UN report. Southeast Asia and the broader East Asia region are facing the toughest challenge in this regard. There has been growing momentum in East Asia and the international community to look for solutions, evidenced by the inclusion of the issue in the agenda of G20 Summit in Japan this year. This policy report argues that the solution should be comprehensive and multi-sectoral – that includes not only reduction in the use of single-use plastic products but also better waste management, technological solutions, and sustainable economic models. The political will and collective action of East Asian countries can have a global impact through multilateral channels like the UN system and G20 Summit.

The South China Sea (SCS) is an important water body that affects a wide range of human security aspects, including the economy, food, health, and environment of the countries and people around it. Despite its importance, however, the marine environment in the SCS is deteriorating at an alarming rate. There is currently no overarching regional environmental protection regime in the SCS. Cooperation in this area between ASEAN and China is therefore critical, since marine environmental problems are often transboundary. This policy report identifies four policy pathways that are key to the effective protection of the marine environment in the SCS: a regional mechanism, law enforcement, marine scientific research, and multi-stakeholder cooperation.

Recently, the Philippines has been demonstrating its interest in using nuclear energy, including addressing issues and gaps in its nuclear energy preparations, several of which fall under nuclear security, nuclear emergency preparedness and response, and regulatory capacity. This article argues that the ASEAN member states' growing regional cooperation in nuclear safety and security, spearheaded by the ASEAN Network of Regulatory Bodies on Atomic Energy (ASEANTOM), can have a strong positive impact on the Philippines' nuclear energy preparations. ASEANTOM's regional activities and projects can help the Philippines address some of the current critical gaps and issues in its nuclear energy preparatory plans. But there are still limitations to how much regional cooperation can impact the Philippines' nuclear power preparations. This article is not only just about the Philippines and its plan to use nuclear energy, but also about ASEAN cooperation in nuclear safety, security, and emergency preparedness and response.

This NTS Insight is the second part of a series of two that engages in the debate on the South China Sea (SCS) from the perspective of marine environment. In this NTS Insight, focal areas that are important for effective marine environmental protection (MEP) are identified, which include protection and conservation, legal frameworks, enforcement, and scientific research. An assessment of the status of national and regional MEP in the SCS is provided. MEP practices in other regions are examined to generate lessons for better cooperative protection in the SCS. Possible avenues are proposed for strengthening cooperation. This NTS Insight argues that MEP cooperation between ASEAN and China is critical since marine environmental problems are often transboundary and geopolitical tensions should not hinder cooperative efforts in order to advance marine environmental security.

The South China Sea (SCS) is an important body of water that affects a wide range of human security aspects, including economy, food, health and environment, of the countries and people around it. In view of the growing international will to protect the marine environment, it is timely to examine whether and how such commitment can be successfully translated into effective policies, actions, and cooperation in the SCS. This NTS Insight is the first part of a series of two that evaluates the current challenges in marine environmental protection in the SCS and explores opportunities for improvement. An analysis of why the environment in the SCS is a non-traditional security issue is presented. The examination of the causes behind environmental degradation in the SCS and the implications for the security of countries and people in the region leads us to conclude that the alarming state of the environment in the SCS points to the urgency for enhancing cooperation among concerned countries.

"The contributors to this book explore approaches to building a framework for nuclear governance in the Asia-Pacific - encompassing nuclear safety, security, and safeguards/non-proliferation. Nuclear governance collaboration offers an avenue for states in the Asia-Pacific to tackle the emerging opportunities for and challenges to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and the civilian applications of nuclear and radioactive materials. The nature of national actions, bilateral initiatives and regional cooperation in capacity building taking place in East Asia provides a good foundation to pursue a more robust collaborative framework for nuclear governance in the wider Asia-Pacific region. The contributors to this book explore the most critical nuclear safety, security and non-proliferation issues faced by states in the Asia-Pacific and the growing cooperation spearheaded by Southeast Asian countries, China, Japan, South Korea and the US. This book is a valuable read for academics working on security and strategic studies, international relations, non-traditional security issues as well as nuclear-related issues"--

The nature of regional cooperation on capacity building taking place in Southeast Asia certainly provides a good foundation to pursue a more robust collaborative framework for nuclear security in the wider Asia-Pacific region. A step in this regard is to have a regional action plan/roadmap for nuclear security in the Asia-Pacific that could institutionalize cooperation between Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other countries in the wider region, fostering closer collaboration. The paper recommends three practical mechanisms to expand cooperation frameworks in Southeast Asia to the broader Asia-Pacific region: (1) strengthening regional capacity building in nuclear security; (2) establishing an ASEAN-Northeast Asia network of nuclear security centers of excellence (COEs) and knowledge centers; and (3) enhancing regional nuclear emergency preparedness and response. The article also explores the future of collaboration among International Nuclear Security Education Network (INSEN) members in the Asia-Pacific region, with Southeast Asian members as key drivers, to further strengthen regional nuclear security governance through sustainable nuclear security education.