Chapter Fourteen. The Proliferation Security Initiative And Asia

Abstract

The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is an activity initiated by the Bush Administration to prevent weapons of mass destruction (WMD), their delivery systems and related materials from reaching or leaving states or sub-state actors tof proliferation concernt. The main focus of the PSI has been on interdictions of ships carrying WMD-related materials to or from targeted countries like North Korea, Libya, Iran, the Sudan, Syria and Cuba. The expanded and enhanced participation of states, particularly key Asian states, is critical to the PSI's success. Besides the political and practical problems, there are deeper-seated concerns among developing countries. For example, some feel that the PSI, if carried to its extreme, could further undermine the concept of the sovereignty of nations. The PSI obviously has some way to go before it becomes the widely supported effective tool its founders envisioned. Keywords: Asian states; Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI); weapons of mass destruction (WMD)