Specialists from Japan, Korea, China, Australia, and the United States explored in depth the current status of nuclear extended deterrence in East Asia, the plausibility of substituting conventional for nuclear extended deterrence in US alliance relationships, the cooperative security relationships that are needed to establish a nuclear weapons-free zone, and the thorny issues of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and the Taiwan Straits conflict.

The proposal for a Northeast Asian nuclear weapons-free zone was compared with existing and other proposed zones (such as in the Middle East).  Lessons were drawn from these zones as to how to handle North Korea’s challenge in a Northeast Asian zone, and the necessary institutional and monitoring and verification requirements to implement a zone.

In addition to expert analysts from each country, the workshop was attended by senior members of the Asia Pacific Leadership Network, who served as a sounding board for the arguments presented at the workshop.

The goal of the workshop was to advance the concept of a nuclear weapons-free zone to a policy option considered in each of the capital cities of the nuclear and non-nuclear weapons states in the East Asian region by early 2013.

Papers from the workshop panels will be published by the Nautilus Peace and Security Network shortly after the event.
Workshop Date: November 11, 2011

Host: The Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability,  The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, Asia Pacific Leadership Network
Venue:
International House
5-11-16 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032
Phone: +81-3-3470-4611
Convening Committee:

Peter Hayes, Executive Director, Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability
Richard Tanter, Senior Research Associate, Nautilus Australia
Gordon Flake, Executive Director, The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation

Funded by: Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nuclear Threat Initiative

For more information contact Joan Diamond at joandiamond@nautilus.org