Malaysia Ratifies the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
Last week, Malaysia ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), bringing the total number of Treaty ratifications to 143, according to a CTBT Organization news release.
Among Southeast Asian nations, “Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam have now ratified the CTBT, whereas Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand have yet to ratify it.”
To enter into force, the Treaty must be ratified by ten additional states with nuclear programs, including the United States, North Korea, Israel, China, Pakistan and Iran.
If and when that happens, the technical capability to verify compliance with the Treaty will be well in hand, according to a recent statement from the American Geophysical Union.
“When implemented, the American Geophysical Union and the Seismological Society of America are confident that the combined worldwide monitoring resources will meet the verification goals of the CTBT,” the AGU reaffirmed last month.
The U.S. should continue its voluntary moratorium on explosive nuclear weapons tests and implement further checks on the president’s ability to call for a resumption of nuclear testing.
To help protect U.S. critical infrastructure workers, the next presidential administration should ensure ample supplies of high-quality respiratory personal protective equipment.
As data fuels the next transformative modernization phase, the federal government has an opportunity to leverage modern practices to leap forward in scaling IT modernization.
To maximize the potential of apprenticeship programs, the federal government should develop a cohesive approach to supporting “apprenticeships of the future,” such as those in cyber, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing.