AMM: Malaysia Has Opportunity To Break SEANWFZ Deadlock, Garner Nuclear-Armed States’ Support -- Analysts

By Ahmad Aidil Syukri Hamzah

KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s position as ASEAN Chair in 2025 presents a strategic opportunity to reshape the regional security landscape, particularly in ensuring the region remains free of nuclear weapons.

This comes in the wake of Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan’s recent statement that China and Russia have agreed to sign the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ), while the United States is currently reviewing the possibility of becoming a signatory.

Associate Professor Dr Mazlan Ali of the Perdana Centre, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, described the development as a breakthrough, ending nearly two decades of stalemate in efforts to get all five states recognised under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to become signatories.

Speaking to Bernama, he said that if all the five states agreed to sign SEANWFZ, it would mark not only a success for ASEAN, but a symbol of Malaysia’s respected diplomatic leadership.

“Malaysia has the chance to emerge as a successful facilitator on a critically important global security issue. No ASEAN country has ever achieved such a feat, and it would significantly enhance Malaysia’s influence in both regional and global dialogues on disarmament and peace diplomacy,” he said.

“To date, no nuclear-weapon state has signed the SEANWFZ Protocol. Countries such as China, the United States, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom – the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – have yet to sign it,” he added.

Tomorrow, the Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Commission (SEANWFZ ExCom) is scheduled to take place alongside the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and related meetings at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, which will also be attended by the US, Russia, the UK and China.

Mazlan said that successfully securing support from these nations would become a major legacy of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership, who is currently seen as a vocal advocate for the Global South on international issues.

“If Malaysia manages to unify support for SEANWFZ, it will demonstrate that ASEAN is not merely an observer, but an active player in shaping a nuclear-free future for the world,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy (CENTHRA), Azril Mohd Amin, said that strengthening SEANWFZ is vital not only for regional security but also as a moral and legal commitment to global peace.

Azril said SEANWFZ is a legally binding instrument that institutionalises the principle of nuclear disarmament in Southeast Asia, effectively closing the door on any justification for the use of nuclear weapons by major powers in ASEAN territory. He noted that this makes the region unique in choosing a collective peace approach.

“ASEAN is sending a clear message – it rejects strategic inequality, adheres to international norms such as the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and upholds the principles of multilateralism,” he said, adding that this message is especially crucial as nuclear-armed nations continue to expand their arsenals.

He added that Malaysia must spearhead a new, more progressive and structured diplomatic approach – including reactivating the SEANWFZ Commission and introducing a Five-Year Action Plan to strengthen monitoring and implementation, involving international agencies such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations.

He also proposed that Malaysia, as ASEAN Chair, leverage its position to unite the stances of ASEAN member states, including by convening a special summit and forming a technical task force to coordinate negotiations with major powers.

“The Kuala Lumpur Declaration 2025 could act as a catalyst for renewed political commitment across the region towards this treaty,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Noor Nirwandy Mat Noordin, a Fellow in Psychological Operations at the Centre for Media and Information Warfare Studies at UiTM, said Malaysia’s efforts to revive the SEANWFZ agenda are highly significant in ensuring the region’s future remains free of nuclear threats, especially amid rising great-power tensions.

Noor Nirwandy said ASEAN’s diplomatic approach, grounded in the principles of non-interference and consensus, provides the bloc with moral authority to remain a zone of peace – with Malaysia, as Chair, well-positioned to re-elevate these principles as a model of peaceful diplomacy to address tensions, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.

“Defence diplomacy based on peaceful negotiation and conflict prevention is more stable than a militarised approach. Malaysia should continue to uphold this diplomatic security framework as an alternative to the arms race,” he said.

He added that SEANWFZ could serve as a long-term instrument to curb the contest for influence in ASEAN’s waters, which are at risk of becoming proxy battlegrounds.

As such, he said the support of major powers for this treaty would send a crucial message to the world that Southeast Asia remains a zone of peace, free of nuclear weapons and neutral.

The SEANWFZ Treaty, also known as the Bangkok Treaty, was signed in December 1995 in Bangkok by all ten ASEAN member states and came into force in March 1997.

Under its protocol, each nuclear-weapon state (NWS) is required to respect the SEANWFZ Treaty, refrain from any act that would constitute a violation of the Treaty and its protocol, and pledge not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against any party, or within the zone.

-- BERNAMA