Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction

FORUM STAFF

The first case of COVID-19 reported outside the People’s Republic of China (PRC) involved a Chinese citizen who flew to Thailand on January 8, 2020. Days earlier, Thai health officials had begun screening arriving passengers after reports of an atypical pneumonia surfaced in China. The Chinese passenger tested positive for the new virus, called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), or COVID-19, as it would become known globally. Over the next few weeks, Thai health officials logged 14 more cases among travelers from the PRC, the World Health Organization reported. The pandemic was just beginning.

Thailand’s detection of COVID-19 was not only a testament to its regional leadership in biosecurity and disease surveillance but also demonstrated the country’s partnership and participation with the United States Defense Department’s Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) programs since 2014. In the past decade, Thailand has instituted CTR training programs at Ministry of Public Health sites and integrated disease detection and reporting capabilities, such as the Electronic Infectious Disease Surveillance System, across its laboratory system. These international nonproliferation programs, administered by organizations such as the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), are hallmarks of CTR initiatives to empower partner countries to identify and mitigate biological threats, whether human-made or naturally occurring, at their source.

The onslaught of COVID-19 underscored the severity of biological threats and the importance of detecting and addressing such threats. CTR programs were not only key to confronting the COVID-19 pandemic in more than 30 countries but also addressed other disease outbreaks such as Ebola, SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome. Such biological threat reduction capabilities also prepare for and protect people across the Indo-Pacific from the looming threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

WMD Environment

The U.S. 2023 Strategy for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction highlighted sizeable shifts in WMD development in the Indo-Pacific over the past decade with the expectation that threats will keep growing. Specifically, the PRC is significantly increasing its nuclear stockpiles, pursuing more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030, while increasing ambiguity over its supposed “no first use” pledge. The PRC has also pursued dual-use chemical and biological research into pharmaceutical-based agents and toxins that could be used in a military conflict, according to the 2023 U.S. strategy. North Korea has similarly prioritized its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile arsenals and has chemical and biological weapons capabilities suitable for military use. Analysts assess that North Korea’s chemical warfare stockpiles total thousands of metric tons, including nerve, blister, blood and choking agents. Such procurement and proliferation by the regimes in Beijing and Pyongyang move WMD-related materials and components through the region and globally, the U.S. strategy said. As the WMD threat grows, the U.S. is resolved to deter WMD attacks, enable the joint force and its partners to detect and respond to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) incidents, and prevent the emergence of additional threats. DTRA is a key pillar in this endeavor.

The agency does not produce WMD: It reduces the threat of WMD and complies with and strongly supports all Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) treaties and conventions to stop the spread of WMD. DTRA has collaborated with more than 65 countries, including 18 in the Indo-Pacific, and tailors its support to achieve each partner’s goals.

The Philippines

Amid broadening defense ties between the Philippines and the U.S., underscored by the expansion of the longtime allies’ Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement in 2023, DTRA has helped bolster Manila’s biological and chemical response posture and provided Philippine security professionals with tools to address maritime threats and WMD proliferation. In February 2024, DTRA turned over the National Virtual Training Center (NVTC) in Manila to the Philippine government, reflecting a nearly decade-long strategic partnership to address WMD and emerging threats. The facility will prepare health officials and first responders to detect and prevent biological and chemical threats through virtual reality training and hands-on applications.

“The NVTC will be a tool for the country to address emerging threats and provide continuing education to public safety practitioners following international standards … to achieve the goal of having a peaceful and safe nation, resilient against CBRN threats and free from WMDs,” Gen. Ricardo De Leon, director of the Philippines’ National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, said in a statement. 

Likewise, DTRA’s multiyear investments in the Philippines’ National Coast Watch Center and National Coast Watch System have empowered authorities to increase interagency coordination and surveillance of the nation’s territorial waters and surrounding waterways. The Philippines is an outstanding example of WMD detection and deterrence in a congested maritime region, successfully tracking and interdicting vessels transporting illicit materials in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. 

WMD Counterproliferation

The Philippines’ success is just one example of regional counterproliferation initiatives. DTRA, in partnership with other U.S. agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Homeland Security and State departments, spearheads efforts to detect, disrupt, and dismantle proliferation networks and associated global WMD trafficking, delivery systems and related materials. A leading program, the Proliferation Security Initiative, is endorsed by 106 nations, including key Indo-Pacific countries. It expands capabilities and cooperation to counter WMD proliferation. Similarly, since 1995, the International Counterproliferation Program has helped partners strengthen capacity to prevent and disrupt proliferation networks through interagency collaboration on doctrine, training and equipment.

DTRA facilitated 27 counterproliferation missions with 12 Indo-Pacific countries in 2023, working alongside a coalition of customs, law enforcement and military professionals. In a region intersected by strategic shipping lanes, each counterproliferation training and exchange reinforces security, collaboration and mutual support for WMD investigations, interdictions and prosecutions. 

Training and Equipping 

As a pillar of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, interoperability among Allies and Partners is vital. Foundational to this goal is ensuring national resilience and preparedness and developing the critical infrastructure to detect and respond to WMD threats. To that end, DTRA also facilitates programs to equip partners with capabilities to protect themselves against such threats. From CBRN reconnaissance tools to decontamination technologies and personal protective equipment, DTRA continues to expand a network of counterproliferation-capable Allies and Partners. As a result of these programs, for example, Thailand recently received an additional 200 pieces of CBRN-detection equipment and training for its Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, as well as for members of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Disaster Response Training Center, and the Royal Thai Army, Air Force, Navy and Police. In the Philippines, meanwhile, DTRA has invested $7 million over the past five years to support CBRN reconnaissance and ensure effective mass decontamination capabilities. The U.S. also assisted the Philippines’ Bureau of Fire Protection, Special Response Force in developing national training programs and enhancing CBRN protection proficiency. Partner interoperability continues to grow with such successes. 

Enduring Commitment

Since 1998, DTRA has collaborated with a network of global partners to reduce and eliminate the threat of WMD and their related materials, technologies, expertise, delivery systems and infrastructure. 

The U.S. commitment to this mission should not be measured solely by the millions of dollars allocated each year to implement counter WMD and CBRN defense initiatives. It should instead be viewed through the measurable improvements to global capabilities and posture, and the steady partnerships of like-minded nations addressing WMD threats. While the operational environment continues to evolve, with WMD a perceptible concern in the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. remains a steadfast partner in building robust capacity to prevent the use of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons in conflict and terror incidents.