China Will Sign SEANWFZ Treaty As Soon As Documentation Is Ready - FM Mohamad

KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 (Bernama) -- China will sign the Protocol to the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) as soon as all documentation is ready, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

"China made a commitment to ensure that they will sign the treaty without reservation.

"That's something very good for ASEAN,” he said.

Mohamad spoke to reporters after attending the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference (PMC) with several countries including China, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, held in conjunction with the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and related meetings on Thursday.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi led his delegation to the high-level meeting held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) here.

Commenting further on his discussion with China’s top diplomat during the session, Mohamad said there remains ample room for Malaysia to enhance and strengthen both its bilateral and multilateral relations with the country.

"The rest of the discussions were on normal bilateral and multilateral (issues), including (ensuring) free passage and open skies in the South China Sea, (as well as) respect for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

"So everything is normal and we look forward for a better cooperation between ASEAN and China," he said.

On July 2, Mohamad was reported as saying that China and Russia had indicated readiness to sign the protocol, while the United States (US) was still reviewing the treaty.

The SEANWFZ Treaty, also known as the Bangkok Treaty, was signed in December 1995 in Bangkok by ASEAN member states as a commitment to preserve Southeast Asia as a region free of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.

It came into force in March 1997.

SEANWFZ is one of five Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZs) in the world. The other four are located in Latin America and the Caribbean, the South Pacific, Africa, and Central Asia.

-- BERNAMA