23 May 2009
Joint Statement by Commission Co-Chairs Gareth Evans and Yoriko Kawaguchi on the Conclusion of the North East Asia Regional Meeting of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament
Beijing, China 22-23 May 2009
The International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament held a regional meeting in Beijing, China on 22-23 May. The meeting was organized in partnership with Tsinghua University.
In welcoming nuclear experts and senior officials from across the region, Commission Co-Chair Yoriko Kawaguchi noted the importance of North East Asia to global security and continuing regional proliferation concerns.
Co-Chairs Evans and Kawaguchi called on all countries in the region to support and undertake practical disarmament steps towards the eventual abolition of nuclear weapons globally, and to adopt the most stringent international controls against proliferation.
The meeting allowed the Commission to engage in intensive interaction with key nuclear experts providing unique insights on global and regional nuclear issues and challenges, including proliferation threats and the safe and secure management of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
An important theme was the links between the three pillars of nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The discussion also noted the importance of broader security issues: missile defence, deterrence, negative security assurances and commitments not to initiate use of nuclear weapons.
The meeting also reviewed regional plans for the expanded use of nuclear energy from an already large base. Various ideas were advanced for ensuring that the regional and global expansion of nuclear power use is accompanied by enhanced arrangements for ensuring exclusively peaceful use of nuclear technology.
The Co-Chairs met Foreign Minister His Excellency Yang Jiechi of China to brief him on the progress achieved by the Commission. The Foreign Minister welcomed the Commission and expressed his expectation that the Commission would achieve a very useful report which would contribute to the successful NPT Review conference in May 2010.
The Commission, co-chaired by former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans and former Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, is an independent global initiative established in 2008, supported by the Governments of Australia and Japan. The Commission is a global panel which includes former heads of state and senior ministers, military strategists and disarmament experts. It is supported by an Advisory Board of international experts and works in collaboration with research centres from around the world – including Tsinghua University. The Commission will hold two more regional meetings this year – in New Delhi for South Asia and Cairo for the Middle East.
The Commission aims to reinvigorate the global debate on nuclear disarmament and on preventing the further spread of nuclear weapons to other parts of the world. To this end its major report will be issued by early 2010 to help build an international consensus in advance of the May 2010 conference to review the operation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
A list of participants in the meeting is attached.
[For further information please contact the Australian Embassy Media officer Jill Collins: +86-10-5140 4171 Mobile: +86-13601259093 (English and Chinese) and ICNND Secretariat: Leona Landers +61 2 6261 2812 (Mobile: +61 2 421 488457) ]
List of Participants in the North East Asia Regional Meeting
Beijing, 22-23 May 2009
COMMISSIONERS
Mr Gareth Evans (Co-Chair - Australia), Ms Yoriko Kawaguchi (Co-Chair, Japan), Ambassador Wang Yingfan (China),
Dr Alexei Arbatov (Russia), Dr Frene Noshir Ginwala (South Africa), Mr Francois Heisbourg (France), General (ret.) Jehangir Karamat (Pakistan), Ambassador Wiryono Sastrohandoyo (Indonesia).
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
Professor Han Sung-Joo (ROK), Dr Shunsuke Kondo (Japan), Ambassador Nobuyasu Abe (Japan).
REGIONAL PARTICIPANTS
Prof Hu Side (China)
Senior Counsellor, China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP)
Dr Wu Jun (China)
Deputy Director, Centre for Strategic Studies, China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP)
Prof Zhu Xuhui (China)
China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC)
Dr Yao Yunzhu (China)
Director, Asia-Pacific Office, Department of World Military Studies, Academy of Military Science
Dr Yang Mingjie (China)
Assistant President, Chinese Institute for Contemporary International Relations (CICIR)
General (ret.) Pan Zhenqiang (China)
Professor, National Defence University
Ambassador Hu Xiaodi (China)
Arms Control Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Dr Teng Jianqun (China)
Deputy Secretary-General, China Arms Control and Disarmament Association (CACDA)
Professor Li Bin (China)
Professor, Tsinghua University
Dr Kuniko Inoguchi (Japan)
Member of the House of Representatives, Liberal Democratic Party of Japan
Ambassador Tetsuya Endo (Japan)
Senior Adjunct Fellow, Japan Institute for International Affairs
Dr Fumihiko Yoshida (Japan)
Researcher and Editorial Writer, Asahi Shimbun
Professor Nobumasa Akiyama (Japan)
Associate Professor, School of International and Public Policy, Hitotsubashi University
Mr Sul Kyong-hoon (ROK)
Deputy Director-General, International Organisations Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Dr Kim Tae-woo (ROK)
Vice President, Korea Institute for Defence Analysis
Professor Moon Chung-in (ROK)
Professor, Political Science Department, Yonsei University
Dr Choe Kwan-kyoo (ROK)
Director, Nuclear Control Policy Division, Korea Institute of Nuclear Non-proliferation and Control
Professor Han Yong-sup (ROK)
Visiting Professor, China Foreign Affairs University, Beijing
Mrs Onon Sodov (Mongolia)
Director-General, International Organisations Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Monglia
Mr Galsan Jamts Sereeter (Mongolia)
Chief of the Centre of Defence Studies, Mongolian Institute of Strategic Studies
Mr Mark Lambert (USA)
Embassy of the United States of America, Beijing
Mr Anton Revoutskiy (Russia)
Embassy of the Russian Federation