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How Indonesia can lead in revitalizing the NPT
As a non-nuclear country, Indonesia can strategically reinforce its leadership not only in disarmament advocacy, but also in championing development-oriented cooperation under the NPT framework.
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An activist looks out from an inflatable polar bear costume while holding a sign with a symbol representing nuclear energy as she participates in an action called “Spreading Awareness with a Smile: The Banana Radiation Campaign“ on Nov. 16, 2024, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku. (Reuters/Maxim Shemetov)
A
s nuclear risks surge and the credibility of global non-proliferation norms frays, Indonesia faces a decisive moment, not only to protect the global order, but to secure its own future leadership in peace and security.
In recent years, Jakarta has demonstrated a willingness to engage difficult nuclear governance questions, particularly around naval nuclear propulsion (NNP) safeguards. Yet dialogue alone is no longer enough. Leadership now demands action that reshapes norms, not just hosts conversation.
Indonesia’s side event on naval nuclear propulsion (NNP) safeguards in July 2024, supported by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), marked a critical step. It convened Australia, Brazil, China, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and UNIDIR into open debate on the sensitive Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) fault line; how to verify naval nuclear materials used beyond standard civilian safeguards. This follows Indonesia’s 2022 working paper warning against unchecked loopholes in Article 14 of the NPT and the dangerous precedent set by AUKUS nuclear submarine transfers.
Yet the NPT regime today teeters toward strategic irrelevance. Nuclear-armed states are expanding arsenals with impunity, doctrines are doubling down on nuclear threats and proposals for new nuclear sharing proliferate even among NATO states. The "grand bargain" of the NPT, which is disarmament in exchange for non-proliferation, is eroding before our eyes.
In this environment, procedural leadership is insufficient. Indonesia’s credibility will hinge not only on its willingness to raise concerns, but also on its ability to translate these concerns into tangible multilateral progress. Jakarta must pivot from convening to shaping: Actively driving outcomes that strengthen safeguards and revive disarmament credibility.
In doing so, Indonesia could further reinforce its leadership by emphasizing the role of peaceful uses of nuclear energy in advancing sustainable development goals; an area where a broader consensus remains within reach.
Jakarta can champion this transition by advancing three urgent agendas at the Third Session of the Preparatory Committee for the Eleventh Review Conference of the Treaty on the NPT that is now underway until May 9 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
