ASEAN to sign 'nuclear-free' treaty: Alatas
ASEAN to sign 'nuclear-free' treaty: Alatas
JAKARTA (JP): Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are expected to sign a milestone agreement declaring the region free from nuclear weapons during their fifth summit in Bangkok later this month.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas told reporters after meeting with President Soeharto yesterday that ASEAN officials have managed to finalize the Treaty on Nuclear Weapon Free Zone for Southeast Asia and that it would be ready for signature at the summit, which will be held from Dec. 14 to Dec. 15.
The treaty is one of three major events expected from the Bangkok meeting, Alatas added.
The other two are the unprecedented meeting of all 10 leaders of the countries of Southeast Asia and the plan to expand ASEAN's activities to incorporate "functional cooperation" in addition to the existing political and economic cooperation programs.
"Every summit has its own weight and meaning," Alatas said.
Alatas reported to President Soeharto yesterday about preparations for the summit. Also present were Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono, Coordinating Minister for Industry and Trade Hartarto and Trade Minister Satrio Budiardjo Joedono.
ASEAN, founded in 1967, now groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. This will be the first time that Vietnam has participated in an ASEAN summit since it became the first communist country to join the regional organization this year.
Three other Southeast Asian countries -- Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar -- have agreed to join their ASEAN counterparts in Bangkok for the historic meeting.
Alatas said the three non-ASEAN participants have given their consent to the nuclear-free treaty.
The minister described the treaty as the result of nearly 10 years of "not-easy" negotiations, as ASEAN had also to consult with nuclear states, including the United States.
The treaty, he said, would proclaim the entire Southeast-Asian region, including its waters and airspace, to be free from nuclear weapons. The treaty bars signatories from producing, storing, or permitting the production or storage of nuclear weapons.
The treaty allows countries possessing nuclear weapons to use the region's waters and airspace for transit purposes, subject to the approval of the Southeast Asian country concerned.
"It is left to each country (signatory) to accept or refuse," Alatas said.
The treaty would allow nuclear countries -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- to sign a protocol of association, he added.
Dream
On the meeting of the 10 Southeast Asian leaders in Bangkok, Alatas said that it is expected to bring closer the ASEAN dream of bringing all 10 countries in the region under one roof.
"This is, I think, a strategic development, because this is what we have wanted all along," Alatas said, adding that the region had experienced a lot in the way of wars and mutual suspicions among neighboring countries.
ASEAN officials have said that the other three Southeast Asian countries will join ASEAN before the turn of the century.
Laos has already expressed its intention to become a fully- fledged ASEAN member by 1997. Cambodia has observer status and Myanmar guest status in ASEAN's various ministerial meetings.
Alatas said ASEAN leaders are expected to endorse the plan to expand ASEAN's cooperation program beyond politics and economics.
ASEAN officials have already been working on functional cooperation programs in the fields of education, environmental conservation, health and information, he said.
On the economic front, Hartarto said that the ASEAN leaders would reaffirm their commitment to the establishment of an ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) by the year 2003.
Hartarto said that ASEAN is also considering expanding AFTA's coverage from manufacturing and agricultural products only, at present, to include services and intellectual property rights as well.
The minister said ASEAN officials have taken note of an appeal from Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah that AFTA's implementation be brought forward to 2000.
ASEAN ministers have agreed to put as many commodities as possible in the 0-5% tariff group, he said. (emb)