Southeast Asia’s Movement Towards Nuclear Energy

Abigale Giordano

Digital Editor

Southeast Asia is taking historic action with its ambitious movement towards nuclear power to create a sustainable energy source for the region—one that has never applied nuclear power before. This movement is not the first time Southeast Asian nations have sought nuclear energy. According to The Associated Press, Southeast Asia’s only nuclear power plant was completed decades ago, about 40 miles from Manila, the capital of the Philippines. However, the plant was left idle due to fears of corruption and never even produced a single watt of nuclear energy. 

Despite this history, ABC News reports that Vietnam has revived its nuclear power plans, Malaysia has plans involving nuclear energy, and the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar are all now showing interest in nuclear power as an energy source. The Associated Press emphasizes that these nations are on a quest for a cleaner, more reliable energy source. The states view nuclear energy as a climate solution, as reactors do not emit the plant-warming greenhouse gases released by burning coal, gas, or oil. New technology not only lowers the risk of radiation from nuclear power but also makes the building of nuclear power plants cheaper.

The Southeast Asian movement towards clean, nuclear energy stems from its need to reduce reliance on coal and other fossil fuels. A shift toward clean energy is viewed as a necessity for the region, as, according to The Diplomat, Southeast Asia is one of the most rapidly developing and technologically dynamic regions of the modern era. The International Energy Agency reports key findings that Southeast Asia’s power demand is projected to double by 2050, reflecting the urgency of a movement toward a clean power source to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the momentum the nuclear energy movement has now, it is a project that has been in the works for years. The Diplomat reports that multiple states within the region have been building the infrastructure to achieve such a bold goal for years.

Only in recent years has the movement been politicized. In 2022, Nikkei Asia, a Japanese-owned news company, reported that Ferdinand Marcos Jr. campaigned in the Philippines with the promise of reviving the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, which was built under his father but never operated. Having won the presidency, Marcos Jr. has been in communication with the U.S. nuclear power firm NuScale to bring small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) to the Philippines. 

Over in Vietnam, a Vietnamese power engineering consultancy named PECC2 has partnered with the Danish company Seaborg, which designs power barges using compact molten salt reactors, and German manufacturer Siemens Energy to investigate floating nuclear power plants that would provide electricity as well as hydrogen and ammonia production, according to World Nuclear News. Seaborg’s design is for modular CMSR power barges that can produce between 200 MW and 800 MW of electricity, with an operational life of 24 years. Vietnam has attempted nuclear power generation since 1995 but has failed multiple times due to financial issues. 

However, in March of 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued a draft development plan calling for the inclusion of small modular reactors in the country’s energy mix after 2030. Bloomberg reports that Indonesia, “the giant” of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), an intergovernmental organization that promotes economic, political, and social cooperation in Southeast Asia, has moved up its timeframe for nuclear power deployment to 2039, riding the momentum of the $20 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership at the 2022 G-20 Summit in Bali.

Although the Southeast Asian movement has generated global cooperation and incentives for clean energy, it has also sparked criticism. Scott Jones, a nonproliferation and export controls expert with the U.S.-based Stimson Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to improve international security and prosperity, warns that Southeast Asia’s status as an “emerging source and trade hub” for nuclear power could present “unique nonproliferation challenges” if strategic trade controls (STCs) are insufficiently implemented before the gates are opened, reports The Diplomat. His statements underscore the dual use of nuclear power: its potential for clean energy, but also destruction. 

Licensing by the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security supports Jones’s statement. Of the 10 ASEAN nations, only Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines possess strategic trade control frameworks, which help to ensure that no materials are siphoned off to the black market, a plausible pathway for rogue states and terrorist groups to create weapons of mass destruction.

Image courtesy of Getty Images.