nuclear-news

P5 nations may become part of ASEAN’s Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ),

Nuclear nations to mull ASEAN nuke-free zone, Desy Nurhayati and Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali |, 11/16/2011 , The so-called P5 group of nuclear nations have agreed to consider ASEAN’s invitation to join its Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon-Free
Zone (SEANWFZ), according to a top Indonesian diplomat.

“Now that the P5 and ASEAN have the same draft to discuss, we hope we can move quickly to the signing stage,” Foreign Ministry chief for ASEAN cooperation Djauhari Oratmangun told the media here on Tuesday. Observers have praised ASEAN under Indonesia’s leadership for itsprogress in persuading the P5 — China, France, Russia, the UK and the
US — to consider becoming parties to the nuclear weapon-free zone.

Nyoman Sudira, an international security expert at Parahyangan
University in Bandung, West Java, said the nuclear weapon-free zone
might be a basis the region could use to build stronger ties with the
more-developed countries…..

“This is a major step toward developing strategic cooperation with the
P5, because inevitably, ASEAN countries are still dependent on the
developed countries in the fields of politics, security and
economics.”

Realizing a broader nuclear-free zone is critical for ASEAN to prove
its principles of non-interference and peace to the world, and to
ensure that future conflicts will be resolved peacefully and without
nuclear weapons, Nyoman said.

“The P5 countries will eventually have to respect a nuclear
weapon-free zone in ASEAN. They have to accept the fact that this is
no longer the era of the Cold War. The SEANWFZ would be a strong
measure to prevent advanced countries from using force, including
nuclear weapons.”

ASEAN officials met with their counterparts from P5 countries on
Monday to discuss ways for the P5 to review the SEANWFZ invitation in
the near future to accelerate negotiations.

It is expected that the P5 nations will sign the SEANWFZ protocols,
which will be legally binding, ensuring that the five nuclear states
will recognize ASEAN’s nuclear weapon-free zone.

The SEANWFZ Treaty was signed by all 10 ASEAN leaders in Bangkok,
Thailand, on Dec. 15, 1995.

Signatory countries must confirm that they will not use or threaten to
use nuclear weapons against any party to the treaty, nor use or
threaten to use nuclear weapons within the SEANWFZ….

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/11/16/nuclear-nations-mull-asean-nuke-free-zone.html

November 16, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | ASIA, politics international