Interviews, commentary and analysis given by staff and associates of the Nautilus Institute.
Nautilus in the News
Indonesia’s nuclear power plans, ABC Radio Australia, Richard Ewart, 24 August 2012
Indonesia’s nuclear power plans, ABC Radio Australia, Richard Ewart, 24 August 2012
For now at least a long standing scheme to build a nuclear power plant in Central Java is off President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s agenda, and has been ever since the Fukushima disaster in Japan last year.
So where does Indonesia go next ?
TANTER: Well there certainly are companies that want to be involved in it, there are certainly also foreign companies where nuclear power vendors, like Mitsubishi in Japan, Kepco in Korea, also Russian companies. Unfortunately though, there’s a new factor, a wild card in the election campaign for president which is now beginning to get underway in Indonesia…
Go to the articleArms across the Pacific, The Australian, Paul Cleary, 21 August 2012
Arms across the Pacific, The Australian, Paul Cleary, 21 August 2012
Richard Tanter, Nautilus Associate, comments. (Login required)
Go to the articleAustralia’s Uranium Deal with UAE Under Fire, Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Radio National, Nasya Bahfen, 2 August 2012
The Federal Government’s deal to sell uranium to the United Arab Emirates is coming under fire from several quarters. The United Arab Emirates has vowed to use the uranium for peaceful purposes only — but not everyone’s convinced.
Guests: Peter Hayes, Nautilus Institute.
Go to the articleSharp rebukes to Japan’s defence white paper, ABC Radio Australia, Karon Snowdon, 1 August 2012
There’s been strong criticism of Japan’s defense white paper from some of its neighbours. China and North Korea have published scathing remarks about Tokyo’s assessment of their military activities. Even South Korea has issued an official reprimand.
…The anger in Seoul is significant says Professor Richard Tanter from the Nautilus Institute and the University of Melbourne.
It comes just after the recent collapse of talks between the two US allies on an intelligence-sharing agreement which is not mentioned in the white paper.
Go to the article‘New approach’ needed to denuclearize North Korea, Jeju Weekly, 3 June 2012
Moderated by The Nautilus Institute for Security & Sustainability Director Peter Hayes, with participants Morton H. Halperin, senior advisor for the Open Society Institute; Kim Bong Hyun, deputy minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs; Kawaguchi Yoriko, member of the House of Councillors, Japan; and Fan Jishe, deputy director for the Center for Arms Control and Non-proliferation at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences discussed how the issue of nuclear-free East Asia zone has changed since the Seoul Nuclear Summit this past March.
Go to the articleMobile phones help weaken N Korea’s isolation, Financial Times, Christian Oliver and Kang Buseong, 1 May 2012
Now that Pyongyang has softened its stance, the Nautilus Institute, a think-tank that does research on North Korea, argues the country will not be able to unwind this social and technological change.
North Korea will forsake “total control” and would shift to a model where “the government makes an example of a select group to try and force the rest of the country to stay in line, like the Chinese do,” says Scott Bruce, a Nautilus director.
Go to the articleASEAN Struggles for Relevance in South China Sea Disputes, World Politics Review, Mark J. Valencia, 26 April 2012
Although the tense standoff between Chinese and Philippine warships at Scarborough Shoal in the northern South China Sea has been walked back from the brink, it is a harbinger of more confrontations to come. Indeed, more such incidents are inevitable if China and the four Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states — the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei — that also claim the sea’s disputed islands and their adjacent waters and resources cannot agree on and implement a robust code of conduct to govern their activities there.
Go to the articleUS may move fewer marines from Japan to Guam, Radio Australia, Connect Asia, Liam Cochrane, 6 February 2012
Japan and the United States are reported to have agreed to change the way American soldiers will be re-distributed throughout the region – a seeming breakthrough to the long-stalled relocation process…If the reports are true, 4,700 marines will be transferred to Guam regardless of what happens to the Futenma airbase while the remaining 3,300 will be transferred elsewhere around the region.
Radio interview with Nautilus Associate, Richard Tanter. Click here for audio.
Go to the articleNorth Korea Bans Use of Mobile Phones, Tech Wire Asia, Goutama Bachtiar, 5 February 2012
North Korea allowed limited access to cell phones in December of 2008 and limited access to the internet is available on mobile devices since three years ago. It is estimated that only 0.09 percent of its total population, around 20,000 people (from 23 million citizens), now have cell phones even though 400 million dollars estimated was spent to build the infrastructure of 3G network in the country.
It changes drastically now. November last year, according to Reuters, with 49,000 percent growth, they have hit 1 million users on its new 3G network. Another report from Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability said around 60 percent of people between the ages of 20 and 50 used cell phones in the capital city, Pyongyang, which has a total population of 3 million.
Go to the articleNorth Korea’s sole mobile operator reaches 1 million customers, The Next Web, Jon Russell, 3 February 2012
Statistics from last year suggested that more than 1.1 million (less than 5 percent) of the country owned a fixed-line telephone, which had traditionally been more available than mobile, but the increasingly popularity of mobile means it will likely be dominant soon. However, as a report from The Nautilus Institute noted, the cost of devices and tariffs remain beyond the reach of many North Koreans.
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