Treaty of Tlatelolco [Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean]

Treaty of Tlatelolco [Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean]

Summary:

The Treaty obligates Latin American parties not to acquire or possess nuclear weapons, nor to permit the storage or deployment of nuclear weapons on their territories by other countries. Besides the agreement among the Latin American countries themselves, there are two Additional Protocols dealing with matters that concern non-Latin American countries. Protocol I involves an undertaking by non-Latin American countries that have territories in the nuclear-free zone. Protocol II involves an undertaking by those powers which possess nuclear weapons.

For more in-depth information, please consult the Inventory of Nonproliferation Organizations and Regimes, which can be found on the CNS website at: http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/.

China and the Treaty of Tlatelolco:

China has signed and ratified Protocol 2 of the Treaty of Tlatelolco. According to China, the transport of nuclear weapons through the territory, territorial sea, or airspace of Latin America is prohibited. Upon its signature of Protocol 2, China proposed--in addition to the provision of negative security assurances toward the Latin American nuclear weapon-free zone--that the nuclear weapon states also:

(1) dismantle all foreign military bases in Latin America and refrain from establishing any new foreign military bases there; and

[Statement upon signature of Protocol 2 of the Treaty of Tlatelolco by the Chinese Government, 21 August 1973.]

On 14 November 1972, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Chi Peng-fei gave a specific undertaking in regard to the nuclear-weapon-free zone in Latin America:

"China will never use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear Latin American countries and the Latin American nuclear-weapon-free zone; nor will China test, manufacture, produce, stockpile, install or deploy nuclear weapons in these countries or in this zone, or send her means of transportation and delivery carrying nuclear weapons to cross the territory, territorial sea or air space of Latin American countries." [Letter from Chinese Foreign Minister Chi Peng-fei to Mexican Ambassador to China Eugenio Anguiano, 14 November 1972.]

[TEXT OF TREATY OF TLATELOLCO]

Key statements/documents on China and the Treaty of Tlatelolco:

Last Updated June 1998

This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by MIIS.