Foreign Secretary statement on Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty
After over ten years of negotiations, a process for P5 (China, France, Russia, the UK and US) signature of the Protocol to the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty has now been agreed.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said:
“I am pleased to announce that, following the most recent round of consultations in Bali last week, China, France, Russia, the UK and US (the P5) and the ten member states of ASEAN, reached agreement on all the outstanding issues related to P5 signature of the Protocol to the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty. I congratulate ASEAN on this achievement under Indonesian Chairmanship.
After over ten years of negotiations, a process for P5 signature of this Protocol has now been agreed. By signing this Protocol, the P5 agree to respect the status of the South East Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone, and agree not to use, or threaten to use, nuclear weapons against the 10 states party to the Zone Treaty.
This marks an important milestone in the UK’s commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. The UK fully supports the creation of Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones and believes that they can make a valuable contribution to global and regional peace and security: building trust between Nuclear and Non-Nuclear Weapon States, and contributing to efforts to reduce the number of nuclear weapons worldwide.”