A change of heart
THE Association of South East Asko Nations (ASEAN) has finally succeeded IN forcing the us to see reason. After resisting it for a decade, the us government has agreed to sign a treaty which will establish southeast Asia as a nuclear-free zone; it will be marked as a region in which manufacture, possession and storage of nuclear arms would be banned.
Till now, Washington had argued that such zones could weaken global nuclear deterrence and impede the us Navy's freedom of navigation. But nuclear analysts pointed out that the end of us-Soviet nuclear rivalry and the removal of tactical nuclear weapons from the North American warships and submarines had eliminated the basis for these objections. The Clinton administration also appears to be finally convinced'of that.
Indonesia, which has been I of the vocal 'proponents of a regional nuclear-*ee zone, was intimated by President Clinton of his nation's decision. ASEAN 'officials - who are drafting the treaty - have welcomed the us move, declaring that this would streng*qn su pport for the establishment of such zones in other parts of the world.
Related Content
- The state of the world’s human rights 2024
- Finding the finance: a guide to identifying centrally sponsored schemes to fund heat resilience solutions
- The role of green infrastructure in biodiversity conservation
- Unpacking the first global stocktake: what’s in it for India and the Global South?
- A “shared earth” approach to put biodiversity at the heart of the sustainable development in Africa
- Cameroon country climate and development report 2022