#TalkThursday: Road to nuclear disarmament and stability

MANILA, Philippines – Rappler talks to Gareth Evans, Australia’s longest serving former foreign minister and present chancellor of the Australian National University (ANU).

Visiting the Philippines for a day, he sits down with resource persons from defense, academe and the foreign affairs department on Thursday, October 16, to discuss and raise awareness about the need for nuclear disarmament. The roundtable discussion sponsored by the Australian embassy centers on the theme, “Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament: Are We Going Backwards?”

The devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II was a horrific visual reminder of the threat that nuclear weapons pose to the world. According to a report by the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND), there are at least 16,300 nuclear warheads still in existence, with a combined blast capacity equivalent to over 100,000 Hiroshima bombs. Nearly half of these warheads are still operationally deployed.

The visit of Evans, who served in the Australian parliament for 21 years and was foreign minister from 1988 to 1996, coincides with rising global tensions caused by increased threats from terrorism, as well as territorial and maritime disputes in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea). Evans was also International Crisis Group president from 2000 to 2009, and convenor of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (APLN).

The APLN is a lobby group that seeks to encourage policy makers to work on measures to contain, reduce, and eliminate the use of nuclear weapons.

To raise awareness of the need for nuclear disarmament, Evans is visiting several countries in the region, the last stop being the Philippines. He is the author of 11 books and over 100 journal articles on foreign relations, politics, human rights and legal reforms, and has been included in the list of Top 100 Global Thinkers.

Evans talks to Rappler about the dangers of nuclear proliferation amid the threat posed by jihadists and ISIS, the wisdom of airstrikes conducted by the United States and Australia on Syria and Iraq, and the misjudgments of China. – Rappler.com