CMC Participation in the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS) Workshop: Defense, Technology and Cooperative Security in South Asia

Abstract

As an ongoing part of the collaborative efforts between the Cooperative Monitoring Center (CMC) at Sandia National Laboratories, the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA), and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), staff from the CMC served as faculty in conducting a workshop in Shanghai, China. Sponsor of the workshop was the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS) based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The workshop included participants from throughout South Asia and China. The CMC presented four sessions related to the role of monitoring technologies in promoting regional security and building confidence among nations. Participation in these workshops supports U.S. efforts to further regional cooperation and promote arms control, nonproliferation and other cooperative securily measures and supplements efforts funded by DOE and ACDA over the past four years. The RCSS Shanghai meeting permitted a continued CMC involvement in regionally conducted training for anew generation of leaders in government, the military, and academia throughout South Asia and China. Nuclear issues are clearly a dominant South Asian concern since the nuclear tests of May 1998. However, there remains a strong interest in identifying opportunities for increased trade and reduced tensions in other areas. The RCSS and other regional organizations are enthusiastic about continued CMC involvement in future regional courses.