U.S. objects to ASEAN nuclear treaty

U.S. objects to ASEAN nuclear treaty

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Efforts to lobby major superpowers into
signing the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapons Free Zone treaty are
at a standstill as nuclear weapon states, particularly the United
States, continue to demand changes to the treaty's protocol.

Arizal Effendi, the director of international agreements at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said after discussing the issue
with delegates from several states here that there was still no
progress and that further consultations were needed.

Separately, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East
Asia and Pacific Affairs, Winston Lord, told journalists that "we
have made very clear to them we do have some problems with the
treaty before we can sign on to it."

Discussions of the treaty were held on the sidelines as
delegates from member states of ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)
gathered for yesterday's senior officials meeting.

The ARF, established by the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) as a consultative security forum, is comprised of
19 members including nuclear powers China, Russia and the United
States.

Lord maintained that the United States is comfortable with the
principal of nuclear weapons free zones and said that the U.S.
has acceded to similar treaties in other regions. "However, this
particular one in Southeast Asia has elements to it that are not
present in the other treaties."

"We would have some problems in the text in the way it is
now," he added.

ASEAN leaders during the summit meeting in Bangkok in December
signed a treaty promising not to use, produce or stockpile
nuclear weapons. They have also asked that nuclear weapon states
sign the protocol to the treaty.

According to several delegates here, the main objections came
from the U.S. while other states such as Britain, China, France
and Russia only had minor concerns.

Lord said it was not just the U.S. who had these concerns.

These concerns relate to the "negative security assurances"
in which nuclear weapons states promise not to use nuclear
weapons against other non-nuclear states.

Other concerns include the manner in which the zone itself is
defined, which includes exclusive economic zones and continental
shelves. "These are significant questions that must be resolved,"
Lord said.(mds)