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)