Kuala lumpur: China is set to sign the Protocol to the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) as soon as all necessary documentation is completed, announced Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan. The minister confirmed China’s commitment to the treaty, noting that the country will sign without any reservations, a development seen as beneficial for ASEAN.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Mohamad’s remarks came after attending the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference (PMC) alongside representatives from China, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. This conference was part of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and related meetings held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC).

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi led the Chinese delegation at the high-level meeting. Mohamad highlighted the potential for Malaysia to further enhance its bilateral and multilateral relationships with China, discussing issues such as ensuring free passage and open skies in the South China Sea and respecting the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). He emphasized a positive outlook for future cooperation between ASEAN and China.

Previously, on July 2, Mohamad mentioned that both China and Russia had shown readiness to sign the SEANWFZ Protocol, although the United States was still in the process of reviewing the treaty. The SEANWFZ Treaty, commonly referred to as the Bangkok Treaty, was originally signed by ASEAN member states in December 1995 and came into force in March 1997. It aims to maintain Southeast Asia as a region free from nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. SEANWFZ is one of the five Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones globally, with others located in Latin America and the Caribbean, the South Pacific, Africa, and Central Asia.