Kuala lumpur: The Executive Committee of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Commission (SEANWFZ EXCOM) convened here on Monday to finalize key preparatory work for the SEANWFZ Commission Meeting to be held tomorrow at the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and related meetings.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the session, chaired by Foreign Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin, concentrated on reviewing progress in implementing the SEANWFZ Treaty’s Plan of Action. Additionally, discussions focused on the potential accession of Timor-Leste to the Treaty and ongoing efforts to secure the accession of Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) to the Treaty’s Protocol.

Timor-Leste’s involvement is seen as a step toward widening the geographical scope of the Treaty. “This is one positive aspect from the participation of Timor-Leste as a new member in ASEAN,” Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin stated to reporters following the meeting at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. The meeting saw participation from senior officials of all 10 ASEAN member states, with an official from Timor-Leste attending as an observer.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan is set to chair the SEANWFZ Commission meeting at 3.15 pm tomorrow. The SEANWFZ Treaty, also known as the Bangkok Treaty, was signed in December 1995 in Bangkok by ASEAN member states to maintain Southeast Asia as a region free of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. It officially came into force in March 1997.

While all 10 ASEAN member states have ratified the Treaty, efforts continue to secure the signatures of the five recognized nuclear-weapon states-China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States-on the Treaty’s protocol. The protocol requires each NWS to respect the SEANWFZ Treaty, avoid actions that violate the Treaty and its Protocol, and pledge not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against any state party to the Treaty or within the zone.

According to the ASEAN website, ongoing efforts aim to secure the NWS’s accession to the Protocol. The 58th AMM and related meetings, under Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship for 2025 with the theme ‘Inclusivity and Sustainability,’ will feature 24 ministerial-level meetings involving ASEAN Dialogue Partners and Sectoral Dialogue Partners. The four-day high-level events are expected to gather around 1,500 delegates, including foreign ministers from ASEAN member states, Timor-Leste, ASEAN Dialogue Partners, ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) participants, Sectoral Dialogue Partners, and senior ASEAN Secretariat officials.