Singapore
Singapore is the only South-East Asian state that has not yet signed the TPNW. It attended as an observer the First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (1MSP) in Vienna in June 2022.
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compatible |
| Test | Compatible | |
| Possess or stockpile | Compatible | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compatible |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compatible |
| (d) | Use | Compatible |
| Threaten to use | Compatible | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compatible |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compatible |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compatible |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Abstained (2022) |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Observer |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 3 (33%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Abstained |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1997, Bangkok) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1976) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2001) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1975) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1997) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Modified) |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
Singapore maintains policies and practices that are compatible with all of the prohibitions in Article 1 of the TPNW and can therefore sign and ratify or accede to the Treaty without the need for a change in conduct.
At the Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in August 2022, Singapore said: ‘The humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons serve as a reminder for all states parties to uphold the NPT, in particular Article VI, to reduce the risks posed by nuclear weapons to mankind.’1
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2022, Singapore said that it has ‘a clear and consistent position’ on the TPNW, arguing that its ‘concerns were not fully addressed when the TPNW was adopted’ and that the Treaty ‘should not affect in any way the rights and obligations of states parties under other treaties and agreements’. Furthermore, Singapore encouraged ‘the international community to work towards finding a realistic and complementary role for the TPNW within the existing global nuclear disarmament architecture, of which the NPT remains the cornerstone’.2
Recommendations
- Singapore should comply with its existing obligation under Article VI of the NPT and pursue negotiations in good faith on nuclear disarmament.
- Singapore should urgently adhere to the TPNW. Until it is in a position to do so, it should welcome the TPNW as a valuable component in the global disarmament and non-proliferation architecture, work with the Treaty's states parties on practical steps towards disarmament, and attend the meetings of states parties as an observer.