Nuclear-free bid

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong met with the ambassadors of the five nuclear weapons states on Friday, urging them to agree to abide by an ASEAN nuclear non-proliferation treaty within the region.

In its capacity as the chair of ASEAN, Cambodia is campaigning for the five states — China, France, Russia, the UK and the US — to sign a protocol of the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone treaty that would force the powers to abide by the articles of the treaty within the ASEAN region.

Also known as the Bangkok treaty, the convention prohibits the development, manufacture or acquisition of nuclear weapons, effectively creating a nuclear-free zone in the region. Its protocol prohibits signatories from using or threatening to use nuclear weapons against any ASEAN member state or within the region.

So far, none of the five nuclear weapons states have signed the protocol.