ASEAN called to commit to nuclear weapons ban

ASEAN called to commit to nuclear weapons ban

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali
Alatas yesterday made a fresh call for fellow ASEAN countries to
display their commitment to the elimination of nuclear weapons by
ratifying the Treaty on a Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free
Zone.

Addressing the plenary session of the House of Representatives
held to discuss ratification of the treaty, Alatas said all
members of ASEAN should have ratified the treaty by July 30 when
the association is due to meet in Kuala Lumpur.

The government submitted the bill to the House of
Representatives on Jan. 4.

"Establishing ASEAN as a nuclear weapon free zone area is of
fundamental national interest," Alatas said. "As a developing
country, Indonesia needs a regional and international environment
which is peaceful and stable."

"Southeast Asia is a strategic area, lined by not only
communication channels which are the economic veins of many
countries, but is also a vital channel for the global strategies
of many major companies," he added.

ASEAN groups Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Cambodia, Laos and
Myanmar are expected to join in the near future.

The treaty was signed at the ASEAN Summit in December 1995. So
far, however, only Cambodia have ratified the treaty into their
legal system.

Commitment

Alatas pointed out that in order to establish Southeast Asia
as a nuclear weapon free zone, the region needed the legal
commitment of countries with nuclear weapons to never threaten or
attack the association's nations.

"In order to do that, we need a protocol that should be signed
by the countries in possession of nuclear weapons," he said,
adding that the campaign was not easy given the Southeast Asia's
geographically important position for those countries' global
interests.

"At the moment, (ASEAN is) still consulting the protocol with
the countries with nuclear weapons. It will take some time."

He cited the signing of the protocol for the Tlatelolco and
Rarotonga nuclear treaties, each of which took several years for
the developed countries to sign before Latin America and the
South Pacific were designated nuclear weapons free zones.

Malaysia is currently chairing the treaty's working group and
is in charge of holding consultations with countries that have
nuclear weapons, Alatas said.

Terms of the treaty include a ban on production, ownership,
control, transport, testing or use in the region.

ASEAN countries must also be informed under the Convention on
Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident, he said.

The use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is allowed but
only under supervision by the International Atomic Energy Agency,
he said. (01)