6 - Advancing a Regional Pathway to Enhance Nuclear Energy Governance in Southeast Asia

Summary

Introduction

Most of the new nuclear projects are now taking place in Asia. The growth of the nuclear power industry, since the Fukushima nuclear accident, has been pivoting from Europe towards Asia, with China leading the growth of nuclear power. In 2018, nearly two-thirds or 37 of nuclear reactors being constructed globally were located in Asia, across nine countries, 20 of which were in China. China currently accounts for more than half of the world's new nuclear power investment. In 2018, only the United States and France operated more nuclear power plants (NPPs) than China. China's nuclear power production may exceed that of the United States, which has led the world in nuclear power generation for over half a century, sometime before 2030. In South Korea, two new reactors are being completed, after President Moon Jae-in had initially ordered halting the construction in 2017, but later changed it as a result of a governmentconvened citizens’ jury that voted 59.5 per cent in favour of completing the units. In Japan, after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, 9 out of its 54 operable nuclear reactors have been restarted while 18 reactors are being considered to be re-opened within the next twenty years.

Meanwhile, several Southeast Asian states are studying the option to include nuclear energy in their future and long-term power generation sources to boost their energy security and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. The Pre-Feasibility Study on Nuclear Power in Southeast Asia (2018) by the ASEAN Centre for Energy foresees that nuclear power will be added to Southeast Asia's energy mix between 2030 and 2035. The study identifies five ASEAN member states—Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines—as frontrunners in the race to establish civilian nuclear energy programmes in the region. They have achieved some milestones in this field with their advanced legal and regulatory frameworks, nuclear energy infrastructures and the required human resources and organization in place.

While Vietnam cancelled its first NPP project in 2016, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines are in the process of building up their human resource capacity and amending legal and regulatory frameworks.