KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -China will sign up to a Southeast Asian treaty banning nuclear weapons in the region as soon as all documentation is ready, Malaysia’s foreign minister said on Thursday.
The Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapons Free Zone, or SEANWFZ, has been in force since 1997, limiting the use of nuclear power by members to peaceful purposes, such as power generation.
ASEAN’s objective is for the world’s nuclear powers, including China, the United States, Britain, Russia and France, to sign the treaty and commit to non-use or movement of nuclear weapons in the region, including countries’ exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.
“China made a commitment to ensure that they will sign the treaty without reservation,” Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and partner countries.
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his remarks. It last week said Beijing firmly supported the treaty and was willing to take the lead in signing it.
(Reporting by Ahmad Luqman Ismail in Kuala Lumpur and Liz Lee in Beijing; Editing by Martin Petty)
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