The war in Ukraine has shattered the security assumptions that the postwar world had believed and not doubted.
I would like tentatively to share the insights of Mr. Katsutoshi Kawano, Former Chief of Staff, Japan's Self Defense Forces.
The war in Ukraine has shattered the security assumptions that the postwar world had believed and not doubted.
First, the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) regime, which had supported nuclear control, virtually collapsed.
The NPT was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1968 for the purpose of nuclear disarmament and entered into force in 1970.
The treaty bans the possession of nuclear weapons by all nations except the United States, China, the United Kingdom, France, and Russia.
In other words, the treaty seeks to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons by placing full control of nuclear weapons in the hands of these five nations.
The premise of the treaty is that the five countries with nuclear weapons are responsible major powers and that non-nuclear nations should be reassured.