Publication

As some Southeast Asian states such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia look to utilize nuclear energy from 2020 on, this paper contends that it is imperative for ASEAN to start developing a regional nuclear emergency response and incorporating technological disaster and nuclear crisis into its disaster management framework. As part of this, the author recommends 1) incorporating joint nuclear emergency drills into the region’s disaster response exercises; 2) establishing a regional contingent of specially trained nuclear disaster emergency responders; and 3) creating a crisis center for coordinating responses to nuclear crises.