Malaysia’s chairmanship sought to fend off short-term challenges while laying the groundwork for minimizing ASEAN’s longer-term exposure to external stresses.
Elina Noor
Major problems are delaying the otherwise successful collaboration between the U.S. and Russia to prevent the theft of poorly-secured weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and related materials, technologies and expertise in the former Soviet Union. Government failure to correct these problems threatens to leave vast stockpiles of nuclear and chemical weapons and biological agents vulnerable.
Major problems are delaying progress in the otherwise successful collaboration between the United States and Russia to prevent the theft of poorly-secured weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and related materials, technologies and expertise in the former Soviet Union. The inability or refusal of the governments to correct these problems threatens to leave vast stockpiles of nuclear and chemical weapons and biological agents vulnerable to acquisition by terrorists, rogue states and black marketeers. This study contains an updated assessment of the current risks posed by the Russian nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and ballistic missile sectors as well as progress made in addressing these dangers. It is the product of a ten-month review of U.S.-Russian threat reduction activities by prominent U.S., Russian, and European non-proliferation experts.
Also published by Carnegie, Deadly Arsenals: Tracking Weapons of Mass Destruction provides the most comprehensive assessment available on WMD, and charts the spread of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and missile delivery systems.
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
Malaysia’s chairmanship sought to fend off short-term challenges while laying the groundwork for minimizing ASEAN’s longer-term exposure to external stresses.
Elina Noor
For Malaysia, the conjunction that works is “and” not “or” when it comes to the United States and China.
Elina Noor
In July 2025, Vietnam and China held their first joint army drill, a modest but symbolic move reflecting Hanoi’s strategic hedging amid U.S.–China rivalry.
Nguyễn Khắc Giang
Regulation, not embargo, allows Beijing to shape how other countries and firms adapt to its terms.
Alvin Camba
The Thai-Cambodian conflict highlights the limits to China's peacemaker ambition and the significance of this role on Southeast Asia’s balance of power.
Pongphisoot (Paul) Busbarat