Heritage Foundation Asia Watchers On The Washington Nuclear Summit
Nick Zahn /
Three of The Heritage Foundation’s analysts in the Asian Studies Center provided their thoughts on the upcoming Nuclear Summit in Washington DC.
Lisa Curtis:
“No one can dispute the significance and urgency of the issues to be addressed at the nuclear security summit, namely that of preventing acts of nuclear terrorism and securing vulnerable nuclear materials. But achieving these goals in practical terms will be difficult, given the complex regional security dynamics driving nuclear decision making in different parts of the world. Nowhere are these regional dynamics more complex than in South Asia.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s attendance at the summit is particularly noteworthy. The U.S.-India civil nuclear deal has enhanced transparency in Indian civilian nuclear programs and raised expectations that India will play an active role in strengthening the overall nonproliferation regime by contributing positively to initiatives like next week’s international gathering.