A senior Thai official said China’s plan to become a signatory to the ASEAN no-nuclear weapons treaty could persuade other nuclear nations to follow suit.
Beijing’s support for a nuclear-weapon-free zone earned praise from Thailand.
Usana Berananda, Director-General of the Department of ASEAN Affairs, said China is ready to sign the protocol of the 1995 Treaty of Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapons Free-Zone (SEANWFZ), also known as the Bangkok Treaty without any conditions.
The director-general said the move will also send a strong signal to nuclear powers to move forward with nuclear disarmament.
Beijing had long wanted to sign the treaty over the past decade.
The bloc however preferred that China will sign the document with four other nuclear states sign at the same time which include the US, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom.
The Saud treaty was signed on the 15th of December 1995 by the 10 Southeast Asian states and entered into force in March 1997.
