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AFP(4/12/95): BURMA TO RESPOND ASEA
Subject: AFP(4/12/95): BURMA TO RESPOND ASEAN'S NUCLEAR-FREE TREATY
ASIA: ASEAN TO APPROVE NUCLEAR FREE ZONE TREATY
ASEAN NUCLEAR (CARRIED EARLIER)
JAKARTA, Dec 4 AFP - ASEAN nations have all approved a treaty to
be signed at their summit this month creating a nuclear free zone
in Southeast Asia, officials said today.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations secretary general Dato
Ajit Singh said "the treaty is ready for signature in Bangkok." The
seven nation group is to hold its summit in Thailand from December
14.
Singh told a press conference the world's five nuclear powers --
United States, Russia, France, Britain, and China -- were consulted
over the treaty.
The treaty could annoy France which has been at the centre of an
international controversy over its nuclear tests. China has also
pursued testing in the face of international opposition.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas said this week the
treaty, which has been prepared for the last 10 years, would pledge
"not to produce, store or allow the storage or production of
nuclear weapons."
The use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes was not governed
by the treaty, Alatas said.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, which joined this year.
Of ASEAN's observer nations, Cambodia and Laos have approved the
treaty. Burma, which has requested observer status, has not
responded. The secretary declined to explain Burma's stance.
Indonesian Institute of Sciences' political analyst, Dewi
Fortuna Anwar, said Burma's delay in giving approval may be linked
to its close relations with China. He added that the treaty would
only be meaningful if all 10 full members and observers approved
it.
AFP shb