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| A protester holds a placard during an antinuclear rally in Tokyo Sunday, March 27, 2011. (AP) |
March 28, 2011
By Kavi Chongkittavorn of The Nation
Nuclear crisis in Fukushima, Japan, has prompted Asean members to rethink their nuclear energy policies. Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have said that they would reassess the future construction of nuclear plants. Be that as it may, these countries, albeit the potential nuclear risk, have very little choice because of their industrialization plans and energy demands. Worse of all, Asean citizens have not yet taken up the low-carbon conscience in their everyday life.
Before the current crisis in Japan, there is a growing consensus, in particular Asean, that the nuclear power is the way to go for the cleaner and greener energy option. To use fossil fuels, renewable energy resources and other alternatives can be costly and greatly impact on climate changes. At this juncture, so the conventional wisdom goes, it is important that Asean needs to devise a policy with diverse energy portfolio but with a nuclear energy option. Other countries such as Singapore, Malaysia including Cambodia have followed this path.
Despite this realization, Asean has been slow in putting together common protocols and standards regarding the civilian nuclear use. In 2010, Asean agreed that the Nuclear Energy Cooperation Sub Sector Network would serve as the key body to assist the Asean members in their civilian nuclear energy cooperation but there has been little progress since then. This inertia has a long history.
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