ASEAN Regional Forum urges countries to eliminate nuclear weapons

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) key security dialogue platform called on states to recognize the need for complete elimination of nuclear weapons.

In an ASEAN chair’s statement issued Thursday, the Philippines said the 33rd ASEAN Regional Forum meeting held on July 23 had urged all nuclear weapon states to fulfill their obligations in advancing nuclear disarmament.

“The Meeting called on the Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) to fulfill their obligations in advancing nuclear disarmament in accordance with Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and to recognize the need to completely eliminate nuclear weapons, which remains the only way to guarantee that nuclear weapons are never used again under any circumstances,” it read.

ARF is one of the region’s top security mechanisms that brings together ASEAN member states, Australia, Canada, China, the European Union (EU), India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, the United States, Bangladesh, North Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Papua New Guinea.

In the meeting, the participating ministers voiced concern over recent developments in the Korean Peninsula and called for the resumption of “peaceful dialogue among all concerned parties.”

The meeting, the ASEAN chair said, expressed "grave concern" over North Korea's ongoing development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, describing them as a violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and "worrisome developments that threaten peace and stability in the region."

The Philippines said ASEAN is ready to play a constructive role, including through utilizing ASEAN-led platforms such as the ARF, to create a conducive atmosphere for dialogue among parties.

On top of the Korean Peninsula, the meeting also tackled developments in the South China Sea, Myanmar, and the situation in the Middle East.

The ministers and high-level officials present then called for the “full and effective” participation of all ARF participants in all ARF activities.

“The Meeting expressed confidence that the ARF would continue to play an important role in promoting dialogue, cooperation, peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and reaffirmed its commitment to further strengthening the ARF as an ASEAN-led platform for addressing regional and international security challenges,” the statement read.

In the same meeting, the participating states formally admitted the United Kingdom as the 28th ARF participant, noting its "strong engagement with ASEAN as one of its eleven Dialogue Partners." (PNA)