Publication

This brief considers the prospects for the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), a US-initiated arrangement to promote interception of transfers of cargoes related to weapons of mass destruction. Although it has enjoyed some success and a healthy expansion in participation, it continues to encounter many challenges, according to the author. Notably these are the complexity of the materials trade, the absence of some critical participants and limited legal grounds for taking action. She recommends participants to redouble efforts to recruit missing states by persuading them of the PSI's legitimacy and providing incentives. Australia should take a lead in bringing more Asian countries on board, beginning with Indonesia and Malaysia.