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RI says Washington should take the lead
The Indonesian government said it would ratify a treaty banning the tests of nuclear weapons only after the United States Senate had done so
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The Indonesian government said it would ratify a treaty banning the tests of nuclear weapons only after the United States Senate had done so.
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said in Washington on Monday he supported U.S. President Barack Obama's call for a nuclear-free world, which he announced during his visit to the Czech Republic in April this year.
"We share *President Obama's* vision of a world in which nuclear weapons have been eradicated. We trust that he will succeed in getting the CTBT *Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty* ratified-and we promise that when that happens, Indonesia will immediately follow suit," he said in a speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.
Hassan is currently in the United States to discuss a comprehensive partnership agreement (CPA) with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. His speech was made available on Carnegie's website.
"We uphold the right of every nation to peaceful uses of nuclear technology for development, but we oppose any diversion of such technology to military purposes," he said.
Speaking to The Jakarta Post in Jakarta, the Foreign Ministry's director for international security and disarmament, Desra Percaya, said, "We want the US government to set an example for other countries."
Indonesia is one of nine countries that have yet to ratify the CTBT. The other countries are China, North Korea, India, Pakistan, Iran, Israel and Egypt. The CTBT will never come into force if those countries do not ratify it.
Desra said Indonesia is committed to creating a world free of deadly nuclear weapons, but added Indonesia did not want to ratify the treaty simply because it was told to do so.
"We have not ratified it simply because we have no intention of developing nuclear technology for military purposes," he said, adding Indonesia's position is different to that of the United States or China.
Concerns about nuclear threat resurfaced after North Korea defiantly conducted a nuclear test last month, drawing condemnations from other nations, including China, its strongest ally. Indonesia said it deplored the nuclear test as it would escalate tensions in the region.
Hassan said Indonesia is ready to work closely with the United States in seeking and promoting dialogue with North Korea and Iran.
"There is a line of proliferation starting from Israel reaching up to North Korea. And there is a need to make the NPT *Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty* regime truly universal both in terms of participating countries and substantive coverage.
"We supported the indefinite extension of the NPT in 1995 - with an understanding that state parties will work to strengthen the review process, with the view to ending nuclear tests, to keeping the reduction of their nuclear stockpiles, and to support the implementation of nuclear weapons-free zones."
