Global Security Newswire

Indonesia is looking for the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone to be finalized by the middle of 2012, "if not sooner," the nation's top diplomat said said on Monday (see GSN, Jan. 20).

The accord, which entered into force in 1997, calls on signatories "not to develop, manufacture or otherwise acquire, possess or have control over atomic weapons," and it prohibits the storage and transfer of such armaments within the region. It has been signed by Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The pact asks the nuclear powers to rule out the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons against treaty member nations. However, those countries -- China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States -- have not yet signed the treaty protocol. Talks on the matter were held last year.

"It's very important to lock in and further appreciate the fact that now, for the first time, the nuclear-weapon states are on the same page in the issue (nuclear disarmament)," Deutsche Presse-Agentur quoted Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa as saying.

"Hopefully, combined with the CTBT and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and support from countries in the region, we can create an even stronger momentum on nuclear issues," the official added.

Natalegawa spoke at the United Nations in New York, where he formally delivered his nation's ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (see GSN, Feb. 6).

The prohibition on nuclear test blasts has been ratified by 157 nations, including 36 of the 44 "Annex 2" states that must fully approve the treaty before it can enter into force. Following Indonesia's ratification in December the remaining holdouts are China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and the United States (J.T. Nguyen, Deutsche Presse-Agentur/Nationmultimedia.com, Feb. 6).

Natalegawa noted that a "trust deficit" might keep nations from moving ahead with ratifying the treaty, Agence France-Presse reported.

"These countries must have the courage to step out of their comfort zone and to take some kind of a calculated risk that their positive moved will be reciprocated," he said.

The foreign minister added that his nation's decision is hoped to "propel others to do likewise."

"I guess we need to communicate with the countries concerned to be able to listen what it is that is holding them back," he said (Agence France-Presse/Google News, Feb. 6).

Ban also called on the holdout states to seek legislative approval for the treaty, the United Nations said (U.N. release, Feb. 6).