Southeast Asian nations discuss nuclear safety

Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar said rising crude prices and instability in the Middle East could threaten the economies of member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.

"Given that many ASEAN countries are highly dependent on Middle East oil imports, rising energy prices and disruptions in energy supply could negatively impact our development and economic competitiveness," Jayakumar said at the opening of the ASEAN Ministers of Energy meeting in Singapore.

Jayakumar did not give details of the nuclear safety discussions, but said that while countries seek to diversify their energy mix to include civilian nuclear power, "they should also recognize the need for regional and international cooperation when dealing with these issues."

Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are looking at nuclear energy programs.

A senior Thai official said Wednesday at an energy business forum in Singapore that Thailand would proceed with plans to build a 4,000-megawatt nuclear power plant, to supply electricity starting in 2020, despite protests from environmentalists.

Thailand sees nuclear energy as being efficient and cost-effective, with a low environmental impact, Deputy Permanent Secretary of Energy Kurujit Nakornthap said.

But Greenpeace activists said Thursday in Singapore that nuclear power was not only costly, but posed long-term risks to the region.

"It is a dangerous and costly choice to secure energy in the region because nuclear power plants pose risks for the long-term," said Nur Hidayati, Greenpeace Southeast Asia climate and energy campaigner.

"Our region is very dynamic — geographically we are located around the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and we are also the meeting point of several major tectonic plates," Hidayati said. "You cannot guarantee the safety of the nuclear power plant in this volatile region.

Countries such as Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, are prone to seismic upheaval due to their location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

A Philippine official had said recently that ASEAN will set up a safety watchdog to ensure that nuclear power plants in the region are not used to produce weapons or aid terrorists and other criminal groups.

The group also plan to sign of a memorandum of understanding on a region-wide power grid later Thursday, Jayakumar said.

Jayakumar said the group would also work to promote energy efficiency, investments in energy research and the development of competitive regional energy markets.

"As ASEAN is endowed with rich energy resources, and is located in a well-defined geographical region, there is much scope for increasing energy trade and investments," Jayakumar said.