Southeast Asia’s Nuclear Blind Spot: Latent Pathways and Explicit Pressures

Southeast Asia is becoming increasingly vulnerable to nuclear risk, despite its status as a Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone. This danger arises not from overt weaponization but from the diffusion of nuclear-adjacent capabilities related to maritime strategy, civilian energy, and conventional military competition. The intensifying U.S.-China rivalry and nuclear dynamics in Northeast Asia, including North Korea's advancements and South Korea's pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines, are extending these pressures southward. This new phase of risk, characterized by latency and proximity, tests the global non-proliferation regime and necessitates updated regional policies to manage the nuclear-adjacent strategic environment.