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Backgrounder: The Proliferation Security Initiative

Council on Foreign Relations

Author: Eben Kaplan, Assistant Editor
July 6, 2006

Introduction

On December 10, 2002, acting on a tip from U.S. intelligence, a Spanish warship on patrol in the Indian Ocean as part of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan stopped the So San, a North Korean cargo ship en route to Yemen. In the ship's hold, hidden amid 40,000 bags of cement, inspectors found fifteen scud missiles armed with conventional warheads. Though dangerous, the cargo was not illegal, and Spain lacked the legal authority to seize the weapons. The following day the Spanish allowed the So San to continue its voyage. The Spanish navy barely had the authority to stop the ship in the first place: Under international maritime law a ship on the high seas may only be searched if it is without nationality, or if it is stopped by the nation with which it is registered. Spanish officials were only able to board the So San because the vessel had numerous problems with its registration and other paperwork.

This incident was among the factors that prompted the Bush administration to launch the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), an effort aimed at stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related materials. The initiative seeks to coordinate governmental nonproliferation activities around the world in the face of advanced communications technologies and expanding global trade that have facilitated the smuggling of WMD.

What is the PSI?

Launched by President Bush on May 31, 2003, the PSI is an attempt to curb the spread of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. The PSI is not a formal organization; it does not have members, a charter, or offices.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2006 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.