1954 – Indonesia establishes the State Commission of Radioactivity and Atomic Energy and began to study the effects of radioactive fallout from U.S. thermonuclear weapons tests in the Pacific. The government subsequently established the Institute of Atomic Energy (Lembaga Tenaga Atom, LTA) to conduct nuclear research and to promote nuclear energy.

1958 – Philippine Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) is created under Republic Act 2067, heralding the beginning of Philippine’s nuclear program.

Mid-1950s to early 1960s – The United States of America facilitated aspirations of four Southeast Asian states (Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and South Vietnam) to harness nuclear energy for electricity generation and uses in other areas such as medicine and agriculture. Through the ‘Atoms for Peace Program’ to promote peaceful uses of nuclear power under the Eisenhower administration:

•    Equipment (including nuclear research reactors) and nuclear fuel were transferred; and
•    Local capabilities were fostered through the overseas education of nuclear scientists and technicians

June 1960 – Five-year bilateral agreement signed between US and Indonesia under Atoms of Peace Program. US agrees to provide Indonesia with a research reactor, a US$350 000 grant and monetary assistance toward the establishment of an atomic research program.

1961 – Office of Atoms of Peace established in Thailand as a nuclear research center.

1963 – An Atoms for Peace supported research reactor came into operation in the Philippines.

1964 – Reactor at the Bandung Institute of Technology in West Java, Indonesia becomes operational; Indonesia records its first nuclear reaction.

China detonates its first atom bomb; Indonesia praises China via press, indicating President Sukarno’s enthusiasm toward nuclear power.

1965 – Construction is started on a research reactor at Gaja Mada research center in Yogyakarta, Indonesia with Soviet/Russian assistance.

July 1965 – President Sukarno publicly declares his support for Indonesian acquisition of nuclear weapons.

August 1965 – Sukarno announces through Japanese journalists that Indonesia was preparing to explode it first atom bomb.

October 1965 – Suharto led coup takes place.

1966 – Thailand's first nuclear project is proposed by the state's Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT).

1967 – Suharto government formally agrees to international safeguards of sensitive nuclear materials and equipment; Indonesia’s nuclear bomb aspirations end.

Jul 1973 – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos (in response to the 1973 oil crisis) announces plans to build a Westinghouse light water reactor nuclear power plant designed to produce 621 megawatts of electricity at Napot Point in Morong on the Bataan Peninsula.

1974 – Thai government approves the proposed project of 1966 to be situated in Bhai Bay, Chonburi province, East Thailand, with 350- to 500-MW capacity. However project is shelved after fluctuations in the world oil market led to a drop in costs for natural gas at that time.

1976 – Construction of Philippine’s Bataan nuclear power plant commences

Vietnam Atomic Energy Commission is also established in 1976 under the Ministry of Science & Technology.

1977 – Thailand’s electricity generating authority (EGAT) reiterated its proposal, stating its increased readiness to build nuclear energy plants. Again, although EGAT got government approval, prevailing global and Thai public opposition to nuclear energy led to its cancellation.

1979 – Construction of  Philippine’s Bataan nuclear power plant is halted after the “Three Mile Island accident” in the United States. A safety inquiry about the plant is convened, revealing over 4000 defects including its being built near major earthquake fault lines and close to the then dormant Pinatubo volcano.

Jan 1981 – The Nuclear Free Philippines Coalition (NFPC) was established as a campaign center in opposition to the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. Lobbying and protests begin.

1983 – A joint BATAN-NIRA Indonesian-Italian feasibility study selected the Muria peninsula as its preferred location for a nuclear power plant, but leaves the exact location open for later consideration.

1984 – Phillipine’s Bataan Power Plant is completed at a cost of US$2.3 billion.

1985 – Indonesia establishes a laboratory for uranium ore processing in Jakarta.

1986 – Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos is overthrown in the People Power Revolution. Amidst strong opposition from Bataan residents and Philippine citizens, and following the Chernobyl disaster earlier in the year in April, the succeeding administration of President Corazon Aquino decided not to operate the plant.

1987 – Filipino President Corazon Aquino transforms the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission into the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), through Executive Order 128. It mandates the PNRI to "promote and regulate peaceful uses of nuclear energy, including its application in power generation, agriculture, medicine, and others".

1988 – The Philippine government files two cases against Westinghouse Corporation: first, a criminal case in the US Federal District Court in Newark, New Jersey, for bribery, and second, a civil case in the International Chamber of Commerce in Switzerland, to declare the contract with Westinghouse null and void due to bribery.

1989 – The Thai government approves the opening of a uranium processing facility to produce 1,000 kg of processed uranium per year. The enriched uranium can be used as fuel in the heavy water (CANDU type) reactor.

1990 – Indonesia completes a six year project with IAEA assistance to improve its radioactive waste management programme for the disposal of spent fuel from its research reactors. Indonesia currently operates in accordance with international norms.

1991 – Indonesia establishes uranium conversion capability at the Research Center for Nuclear Techniques at Bandung, located in Yogyakarta.

Mar 1992 – The Filipino government agrees to negotiate a US$100 million out-of-court settlement lopsidedly in favor of Westinghouse. Senate and the House of Representatives later reject the settlement bid.

1993 – Thailand’s Office for Atomic Energy for Peace (OAEP) establishes the Nuclear Center in Ongkarak in Nakhon Nayok province, near Bangkok. Covering roughly 126 acres, the project's budget was worth 4,500 million baht for a research reactor of 5 to 10 MW. A subcommittee is also set up to study safety in nuclear power plants.

1994 – Thailand’s government passes a resolution establishing the Committee to Study the Feasibility of Nuclear Energy over a six-year period with a budget of 750 million baht (US$30 million), and 50 million baht (US$2 million) for public relations.

1995 – Thai minister for science, technology and environment Yingphan Manasikarn begins promoting nuclear energy on behalf of the Electricity Generating Authority, despite opposition from development organizations. Government officials begin pushing for a nuclear energy policy through the National Energy Policy Office (NEPO) and the building of nuclear plants on the Gulf of Thailand.

1996 – Thai government sets up a committee to study the feasibility of nuclear power consisting of four subcommittees on safety issues, on economics, on public relations, and on environmental impact. The government expects to undertake the study on four reactors, each with a 1000-MW capacity. Following a change of government later in the year, deputy to the Prime Minister, Samak Sundaravej announces plans to build nuclear power plants immediately in the government’s energy policy.

The same year, Indonesia completed a comprehensive feasibility study it began in 1989 identifying Ujung Lemahabang in the Muria Peninsula as the specific site, selected for its tectonic stability.

1997 – Thailand identifies four sites suitable for building nuclear power plants. Thai officials discuss the potential selling of Canadian nuclear technology to Thailand during the Prime Minister of Canada’s visit.

Mar 1997 – Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Bangkok) enters into force.

1998 – Indonesia establishes a national legislative organ for nuclear energy: Badan Pengawas Tenaga Nuklir (BAPETEN).

Jan 2002 – The military junta in Myanmar announces plans to build a nuclear research facility with Russia. The plan was later shelved due to a lack of funds for the project. In the next 6 years, Russia continues to provide nuclear training and education to Myanmar citizens.

Aug 2003 – Indonesia signed a 10-year nuclear cooperation agreement with Russia, which includes construction of a research reactor and a power reactor.

May 2007 – Russia’s atomic agency, Rosatom, announced it had signed a deal to build a 10-megawatt light-water nuclear research reactor in Myanmar.

Jun 2007 – Thai Energy minister Dr. Piasavasti Amranand announced that EGAT would proceed with plans to build a 4,000 MW nuclear power plant, and budgeted some US$53 million between 2008 and 2011 for preparatory work.

During this month, some 4,000 demonstrators against the project rallied at the central Javanese site, in Indonesia, including a local chapter of Greenpeace.

Jul 2007 – Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) signed a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia's PT Medco Energi Internasional to progress a feasibility study on building two 1000 MWe OPR-1000 units from KHNP at a cost of US$ 3 billion. This was part of wider energy collaboration.

Malaysian utility Tenaga announces plans to build Malaysia’s first nuclear power plant at a cost of US$3.1 million.

Aug 2007 – Energy ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet in Singapore during the 13th ASEAN Summit to discuss nuclear power use and safety issues. Singapore proposes the establishment of the ASEAN Nuclear Energy Safety Sub-sector Network (NES-SSN).

Oct 2007 – 100 clerics and scholars from the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia, Nahdatul Ulama, descended on the chosen site and, after deliberations, issued a fatwa declaring the Muria site haram or forbidden, albeit more on pragmatic than strictly religious grounds

Nov 2007 – Japanese and Indonesian governments signed a cooperation agreement for assistance to be provided in the preparation, planning, and promotion of Indonesia's nuclear power development and assistance for public relations activities.

Jan 2008 – Inaugural NES-SSN meeting held in Singapore

Jun 2008 – Heads of ASEAN Power Utilities/Authorities (HAPUA) recommends nuclear power as a possible alternative to meet increasing demand at the 24th HAPUA Council. Plans to form an ASEAN power grid are also set in place.

Sep 2008 – Cambodia's government says the kingdom may develop its first nuclear power plant as early as 2020. A secretary of state for the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, Sat Samy says Cambodia's nuclear plans are in line with efforts by ASEAN to promote atomic energy among member states.

Feb 2009 – Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN states that ASEAN nuclear energy talks were taking place on a ‘technical level’ and that most ASEAN countries were amenable to nuclear power as an alternative source of energy.

Mar 2009 – ASEAN officials and academics meet international nuclear energy experts in Singapore to discuss nuclear safety.

Apr 2009- Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono backed away from a plan to build a nuclear reactor in one of the world's most seismically active countries.

Apr 2009 - Thousands of protesters have rallied in Indonesia's Central Java, calling on the Government to abandon plans to build a nuclear power plant on the outskirts of their city. The International Atomic Energy Agency has backed Indonesia's plans to build nuclear plants, despite opposition from environmentalists.

Apr 2009- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has committed to support the Philippine government in establishing an independent nuclear energy regulatory body

Apr 2009- Vietnam Atomic Energy Commission (VAEC)'s director Vuong Huu Tan said that Vietnam is speeding up progress to appraise of the investment report. Vietnam, however, is facing a number of difficulties regarding human and finance resources, said Tan.

Apr 2009 - Vietnam will spend VND2 trillion ($117.6 million) for a nuclear science and technology training program to provide enough human sources for its first nuclear power plant by 2020, the state-run newspapers said.

Apr 2009 - Four provinces (Chai Nat, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Chon Buri) have been identified as potential sites for a nuclear power plant, according to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), the Bangkok Post reports.

Apr 2009 - India has expressed interest in selling small nuclear reactors to Malaysia and other developing countries, if the governments are keen to use it to generate power.