Nuclear free zone, help wanted<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): ASEAN foreign ministers asked the world's major
\nnuclear states yesterday to support the region's move to turn
\nSoutheast Asia into a nuclear weapon-free zone.<\/p>\n
Winding up their two-day meeting, the ministers of the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations in a communique called on
\nall nuclear weapon states \"to extend their cooperation by
\nacceding to the Protocol of the Treaty\".<\/p>\n
All 10 Southeast Asian leaders at their summit in Bangkok last
\nDecember signed the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone
\n(SEANWFZ) Treaty which bars signatories from producing, owning,
\nusing, or stockpiling nuclear weapons. The United States has
\nrefused to sign the protocol of the treaty, citing objection to
\nseveral elements in the agreement.<\/p>\n
ASEAN ministers tomorrow will meet with their counterparts
\nfrom the U.S., China and Russia in the 21-nation ASEAN Regional
\nForum (ARF) to discuss regional security matters.<\/p>\n
\"At this meeting we agreed to respectively ratify the treaty
\nas soon as possible,\" said Malaysia's Abdullah Badawi at a joint
\nnews conference after the meeting. Malaysia will host the next
\nASEAN ministerial meeting next year.<\/p>\n
The meeting was attended by Brunei's Mohamad Bolkiah,
\nIndonesia's Ali Alatas as chairman, Malaysia's Abdullah Badawi,
\nthe Philippine's Domingo L. Siazon, Singapore's S. Jayakumar,
\nThailand's Amnuay Viravan and Vietnam's Nguyen Manh Cam.<\/p>\n
Alatas at the news conference described the mood of the
\nmeeting as \"exceptionally smooth\".<\/p>\n
Stable<\/p>\n
The 15-page Joint Communique stressed that while the region
\nhas been relatively stable and peaceful, tension and longstanding
\ndisputes exists which, if unmanaged, could erupt into conflicts.
\nThe relative peace and stability in the region could be
\nattributed to ASEAN's endeavors, the ministers said.<\/p>\n
The meeting also adopted a criteria for participation in the
\nASEAN Regional Forum.<\/p>\n
They stressed that while there is wide interest in the forum,
\n\"ASEAN should continue to be the driving force of this forum.\"<\/p>\n
On a more specific regional issue, the ministers expressed
\nconcern about the overlapping territorial claims in the South
\nChina Sea.<\/p>\n
The ministers, however, were heartened that the claimants
\nexpressed a willingness to abstain from the use of force in its
\nresolution. They also endorsed the idea of a regional code of
\nconduct in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n
The ministers also addressed the situation in the Middle East,
\nBosnia Herzegovina and the Korean Peninsula.<\/p>\n
They called for the conclusion of a Comprehensive Test Ban
\nTreaty (CTBT) for nuclear weapons this year, an issue which is
\nexpected to be raised when they meet with I.K. Gujral of India on
\nthe sidelines of the ARF.<\/p>\n
India has declined to sign the treaty, insisting that it be
\nlinked to nuclear disarmament, and demanding a more specific time
\nframe.<\/p>\n
Commenting on India's position, Alatas said that \"by slapping
\n(the disarmament) on now, and insisting on a time frame for that,
\nand linking it to the CTBT, I'm afraid it will endanger the
\nCTBT\".<\/p>\n
On the economic side, the ministers welcomed the progress made
\nin speeding up the region's move towards a free trade area,
\nnoting in particular the reduction of the Common Effective
\nPreferential Tariffs to 0 percent to 5 percent for virtually all
\nitems by the year 2000 instead of 2003 as originally planned.<\/p>\n
The ministers said they will recommend to their leaders that
\nthey consider additional measures for the facilitation of goods
\nin transit, as an effort to promote trade and the free movement
\nof goods in the region.<\/p>\n
The ministers reviewed the latest development of the
\nEast Asia Economic Caucus (EAEC) which ASEAN has been attempting
\nto establish, linking ASEAN's seven members with Asian's economic
\ngiants Japan, South Korea and China.<\/p>\n
\"The concept of the EAEC has not yet been accepted by certain
\ncountries, but there is increasing acceptance of the concept and
\nthe rationale for the establishment of the caucus,\" Alatas said.<\/p>\n
\"We hope that one day, the EAEC will be seen as a good idea by
\nall,\" he said, adding that the caucus would not destabilize the
\nmechanisms within the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
\nforum.<\/p>\n
The ministers also announced their full support for Vietnam's
\nrequest for admission into the APEC forum.<\/p>\n
The proposal of unifying ASEAN members under a single time
\nzone was also discussed by the ministers. In the end they agreed
\nthat it should be looked into by a working group.<\/p>\n
On functional cooperation, ministers agreed the necessity for
\nboosting cooperation in this area, and defined a theme of \"shared
\nprosperity through human development, technological
\ncompetitiveness, and social cohesiveness\".<\/p>\n
The ministers further called on respective member states to
\nplan and organize year-long activities beginning Aug. 8 to
\ncommemorate ASEAN's 30th anniversary. (pwn\/mds)<\/p>\n
More stories on Page 2 and 3<\/p>\n
Editorial -- Page 4<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nuclear-free-zone-help-wanted-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }