China Willing To Sign SEANWFZ Treaty Without Reservation - FM Mohamad

By Muhammad Fawwaz Thaqif Nor Afandi

KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 (Bernama) -- China has expressed its willingness to sign the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Treaty without reservation, according to Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

Without disclosing the countries involved, he said another ‘two to three’ nuclear-weapon states (NWS) have also contacted Malaysia, as this year’s ASEAN Chair, to resume earlier discussions on the treaty.

“This is a positive development,” he told reporters after chairing the SEANWFZ Commission Meeting here Tuesday, held in conjunction with the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and related meetings.

On July 2, Mohamad was reported as saying that China and Russia had indicated readiness, while the United States (US) was still reviewing the treaty.

He added that the meeting today adopted a decision to officially welcome Timor-Leste’s accession to SEANWFZ at the 47th ASEAN Summit in October.

“We will also refine and strengthen our modus operandi because we want ASEAN member states to truly understand their roles. We also want the SEANWFZ bloc to establish relations with nuclear weapon-free zones in other regions.

“This is something we are pursuing so that we can establish common ground and discuss ways to ensure the world is free from the threat of nuclear weapons,” he said.

The SEANWFZ Treaty, also known as the Bangkok Treaty, was signed in December 1995 in Bangkok by ASEAN member states as a commitment to preserve Southeast Asia as a region free of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.

It came into force in March 1997.

SEANWFZ is one of five Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZs) in the world. The other four are located in Latin America and the Caribbean, the South Pacific, Africa, and Central Asia.

-- BERNAMA