LEAD: Indonesia wants nuclear-free zone in Southeast Asia this year

Feb 6, 2012, 18:34 GMT

New York - Indonesia hopes to complete negotiations that would create a nuclear-free zone in Southeast Asia by mid-year, 'if not sooner,' Foreign Minister Marti Natalegawa said Monday after his country joined the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTCB).

Natalegawa, speaking at UN headquarters in New York, said Southeast Asian nations were in the process of completing negotiations before declaring a nuclear-free zone in the region.

'Having said that, it's very important to lock in and further appreciate the fact that now, for the first time, the nuclear-weapon states are on the same page in the issue (nuclear disarmament),' Natalegawa told reporters.

'Hopefully, combined with the CTBT and the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, and support from countries in the region, we can create even a stronger momentum on nuclear issues,' he said.

Natalegawa handed over the signed and ratified CTBT document to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, which commits his country to not carrying out nuclear explosions anywhere in the world, including underground, underwater and in the atmosphere.

He invited Ban to visit Jakarta in March to discuss further Indonesia's cooperation with the UN, including in peacekeeping operations around the world.

A total of 182 countries have signed the CTBT, but only 157 of them have ratified it - a step that legally binds a nation to the treaty. But the treaty remains unenforced until all countries with nuclear capability have signed and ratified it first.

The countries with nuclear capability that have not yet done so are: the United States, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, North Korea and Pakistan.

Natalegawa told reporters that his government ratified the treaty because there was currently an opportunity to advance nuclear disarmament.

'The ratification should encourage others to do likewise, in order to help the treaty to enter into force,' he said.

Read more about UN