House set to ratify nuclear treaty

JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives is ready to ratify a bill that would help turn Southeast Asia into a nuclear weapons-free zone.

In a plenary meeting held to deliberate the bill on the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone, attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas yesterday, the four factions agreed to endorse the document next week.

"The factions' cooperation and responsibility to ratify the treaty benefits Indonesia's efforts to strengthen peace and stability, both at home and regionally," Alatas said.

He said the move would influence Indonesia's foreign policy in the international arena.

Indonesia has been leading negotiations to draft the treaty with the nine other southeast Asian countries, a process that has taken more than a decade and earned the country a special place of honor, according to a statement by the United Development Party faction.

The leaders of ten southeast Asian countries gathered in Bangkok in December 1995 to sign a nuclear weapons-free zone treaty.

So far, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam have ratified the treaty.

The four other signatories -- Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand -- have yet to do so. The treaty requires the ratification of seven signatories before it comes into effect.

Armed Forces faction legislators had, in an earlier session, described the creation of a nuclear weapons-free zone as a fundamental national interest. They also said the treaty was necessary to ensure continued regional stability.

The faction argued that as a developing country, Indonesia needed a stable and peaceful environment both at home and regionally.

The dominant Golkar faction had said the establishment of a nuclear weapons-free zone was an important step toward the establishment of closer regional cooperation.

The faction, however, had been concerned that none of the nuclear countries -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- had signed on to the protocol to the treaty.

The United States has raised objections over several points in the treaty. Officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are currently working with their U.S. counterparts to make minor amendments to make the treaty acceptable to the nuclear powers. (01)