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)