China’s SEANWFZ Protocol Signing Preparations On Track - Mohamad

From Muhammad Faiz Baharin

NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the documentation process for China to sign the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) protocol is progressing well.

Sharing details of the development, Mohamad emphasised that the signing of the protocol will be a lengthy process.

“The progress has been very good so far. In fact, China’s earlier decision to express its readiness to sign the SEANWFZ protocol without any conditions is something we in ASEAN warmly welcome.

“Following China’s statement, other countries, including the United States, have also begun expressing interest in signing the protocol without attaching conditions,” he said.

Mohamad said this at a press conference at the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations (UN) here on Saturday after delivering Malaysia’s National Statement at the General Debate of the 2025 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

At the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur in July, Mohamad stated that China had pledged to sign the SEANWFZ Treaty unconditionally, with the signing to take place once all documentation is finalised.

The SEANWFZ Treaty, also known as the Bangkok Treaty, was signed in December 1995 by ASEAN member states as a commitment to make Southeast Asia a nuclear-weapon-free zone and free of weapons of mass destruction. It came into force in March 1997.

SEANWFZ is one of five Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZs) in the world, alongside those in Latin America, the Caribbean, the South Pacific, Africa, and Central Asia.

-- BERNAMA