Introduction
The spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons in the world have heightened tensions between allies and foes and led to increase in potential threats in the global politics.
The numbers of countries that have nuclear, chemical and biological weapons have reduced drastically due to the ability of countries to curb/reduce their inventories and have also been necessitated by the signing of nuclear proliferation treaty (NPT).
Countries in the Asian continent have always demonstrated the desire to arm themselves and it is for this reason that Asia has a lot of states with nuclear, biological and chemical weapons (NBC).
Unlike nuclear weapons, it is only a dozen of countries which have biological and chemical weapons however these countries will increase due to advancements in technology (CRS, 2008).
The countries that have nuclear weapons in the Asian continent are India, Iran, Pakistan, Israel, China and North Korea. Of all these countries it is only China and North Korea who have signed the nuclear proliferation treaty (NPT).
Characteristics of NBC Weapons
The Asia region has been noted for its zeal to acquire high profile weapons:
Nuclear proliferation trends reveal that Asia is the biggest market for NBC weapons and their associated technology, three of the four countries suspected of having nuclear weapons are found in Asia., “similarly all the countries with chemical and biological weapons are in Asia, consequently five of the eight nuclear powers are in Asia and home of two countries suspected of pursuing nuclear weapons. (National Bureau of Asian Research, 2004, p. 1).
Countries in the Asian continent have continued with their exporting of modern weapon technology and this is supported by the presence of A.Q Khan from Pakistan who is a strong proponent of nuclear technology (CRS, 2008); the three categories of weapons, nuclear, chemical and biological are termed as Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).
Weapons of mass destruction in Asia have created tension in the entire world because of the fact they may be misused due to lack of liberal democratic governments, political instability, totalitarian governments and the notion that modern terrorism is synonymous with Muslims who majority of them live in Middle east in Asia which may result to the risk of lack of command and control over the NBC weapons and assets (National Bureau for Asian Research, 2004).
Analyzing the characteristics of NBC weapons in the Asian continent can be done along the following lines; pattern of proliferation, supply-demand relationship impact of these weapons on the world politics and production rate.
On the proliferation angle, whereas nuclear weapons are regulated and protected by the nuclear proliferation treaty, the developments of chemical and biological weapons are unregulated. States that possess nuclear weapons in Asia and Middle East have been increasing unlike those with biological and chemical weapons which have remained unchanged.
In the Asian continent nuclear weapons have never been used unlike the chemical weapons which have been used massively and more than any other part of the world. Biological and chemical weapons were used in the Yemen civil war, it was used by Saddam Hussein regime against the Kurds and it was also used in the Iraq- Iran war of 1980 and 1981.
Whereas all countries with chemical and biological weapons have signed the Chemical weapons convention (CWC) and Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), apart from China the other Asian countries are not party to (NPT).
Conclusion
Possession of NBC is the greatest potential threat and that counties of Asia are the majority in possession of these weapons makes the rest of the world live in constant fear. Of the three kinds of weapons, it is the nuclear weapons that are considered the one with massive damages.
Despite the laws barring the manufacture or testing of NBC weapons, rogue countries have manufactured it by claiming that they are doing it purely for the generation of energy and for industrial uses.
References
CRS. (2008). CRS report for congress: Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Weapons and Missiles: Status and Trends. order code RL30699. Web.
National Bureau of Asian Research. (2004). National Bureau of Asian Research – strategic Asia 2004-2005. Web.