Preparing For The Unthinkable

Tackling any type of CBRN attack demands the proper equipment. Some Asian-Pacific countries have the capability to react if the worst should happen.

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The threat of biological and chemical warfare in the Asia Pacific remains low with a firm commitment by the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – along with other regional countries and stakeholders: Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia, and the United States, who have all principally committed to the nonproliferation and use of these deadly weapons.

“We recognise the need to address ongoing chemical weapons challenges, to speak with one voice against the use of chemical weapons anywhere, by anyone, and under any circumstances,” the leaders of these countries asserted in their joint statement on chemical weapons during the 12th East Asia Summit (EAS) in Manila in November 2017 .

Despite this assurance, the risk of a biological or chemical attack is not non-existent. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea) continues to pursue weapons of mass destruction and is believed to maintain a stockpile of between 2,500 and 5,000 tonnes of mustard, phosgene, sarin, and V-series nerve agents.

The threat has also been broadened with the rising tide of transnational terrorism in the region, largely stemming from returning Daesh foreign fighters from Iraq and Syria. In the latter half of 2015 and early 2016, these fighters were recorded employing in multiple instances deploying mustard gas and chlorine via improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and mortar bombs, mainly in Iraq.

In its latest worldwide Threat Assessment Report released in January 2019, the US intelligence community warned that the overall threat from weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) will continue to grow during the year, noting “the most significant and sustained use” of such weapons in decades.