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ASEAN rejects amending nuclear-ban treaty 
07:31 a.m. Mar 24, 1998 Eastern 

 PHILIPPINES-NUCLEAR    MANILA, March 24 (Reuters) - The
Association of South East Asian Nations will not agree to any
amendment of the ASEAN treaty banning nuclear weapons in the
region, a senior Philippine diplomat said on Tuesday.
``Amendments to the treaty (are) non-negotiable, period, period, period,''
Foreign Undersecretary Lauro Baja said at a news conference summing up the
results of a two-day meeting of ASEAN senior officials. 

The 1995 treaty bans signatory states from developing, manufacturing,
acquiring, possessing or controlling nuclear weapons, but no constraints are
applied to peaceful nuclear energy. 

ASEAN wants the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China to support
a nuclear-free Southeast Asia, but the five nuclear countries have expressed
misgivings about some provisions in the treaty and its protocol. 

ASEAN includes Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 

((Ruben Alabastro, Manila newsroom +632 841 8913, Fax +632 817 8967,
manila.newsroom+reuters.com)) ^REUTERS@ 

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.