Still from an aerial video of the Zhangzhou Nuclear Power plant in China, which uses the Hualong One reactor. Hualong One is China’s most widely deployed third-generation reactor. The countries building Southeast Asia’s future nuclear reactors may ultimately shape the region’s technological and geopolitical alignment. (YouTube/China News Service)

The Next Front in China’s Indo-Pacific Strategy Is Nuclear Energy

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The countries building Southeast Asia’s future nuclear reactors may ultimately shape the region’s technological and geopolitical alignment.

China’s expanding nuclear energy industry is becoming a new instrument of geopolitical influence across Southeast Asia.

From Vietnam to Indonesia, governments increasingly view nuclear energy as necessary to sustain industrial growth, artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, and rising electricity demand while reducing coal dependence. The result is a regional nuclear reconsideration that would have seemed politically improbable only a decade ago.

Vietnam and Russia signed an agreement in March 2026 for the Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power plant. The Philippines and Indonesia aim to operationalize reactors in the early 2030s, while Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore are studying small modular reactors (SMRs) as part of future energy planning.

At the center of this transformation stands China.

While France, Russia, South Korea, and the United States remain major exporters, Beijing has emerged as perhaps the most consequential long-term nuclear partner for Southeast Asia, combining financing, industrial scale, and state-backed delivery capacity few rivals can match.

Nuclear partnerships are not ordinary infrastructure deals. They are strategic relationships that can last more than half a century and shape everything from fuel dependency and industrial standards to regulatory systems and geopolitical alignment.

The Rise of China’s Nuclear Energy Industry

China’s emergence as a major nuclear exporter is the result of decades of sustained industrial policy and technological accumulation.

As of 2026, China operates 61 nuclear reactors and has another 39 under construction, giving it the world’s third-largest reactor fleet while leading global nuclear construction. Unlike many Western industries that stagnated after the Cold War, China sustained investment across reactor engineering, manufacturing, and workforce development. This enabled Beijing to........

© The National Interest