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Indonesia urges P5 to respect NPT commitment

Indonesia has underscored the importance of implementing the three main pillars of the long-standing Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in equal measure, as state parties prepare for the treaty’s next review in 2020

Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, March 14, 2017

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Indonesia urges P5 to respect NPT commitment

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ndonesia has underscored the importance of implementing the three main pillars of the long-standing Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in equal measure, as state parties prepare for the treaty’s next review in 2020.

The NPT premise is that non-nuclear-weapon states agree never to acquire nuclear weapons, while in exchange nuclear-weapon states agree to share the benefits of peaceful nuclear technology and to pursue nuclear disarmament aimed at the ultimate elimination of their nuclear arsenals.

But critics have accused nuclear-weapon states, which are also the five permanent members (P5) of the United Nations Security Council, of primarily focusing on the non-proliferation element, choosing to stockpile nuclear warheads in order to keep in check the emergence of new nuclear powers.

As such, Indonesia and many other state parties to the NPT stand to lose out on the benefits of developing nuclear power, which academics often hail as the cleanest form of energy.

“The peaceful use of nuclear energy is one of the three pillars that Indonesia continues to push in equal measure with the others,” Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said in Jakarta on Monday.

Indonesia has yet to commit resources for developing nuclear energy, owing partly to the fact that the P5 countries have not made good on their promise to transfer technology.

“We urged nuclear-weapon countries not to block the transfer of nuclear technology, and they committed to that. But in reality, until this very moment there is not balanced implementation of the three pillars,” said Hasan Kleib, the ministry’s outgoing director general for multilateral affairs.

Stated-owned electricity provider PLN stated in its electricity procurement plan for 2016–2025 that it would not consider nuclear power in the next decade unless it failed to reach its target of procuring 23 percent of all electricity from renewable sources.

Indonesia is cohosting a two-day consultation forum ahead of a preparatory commission meeting in May, bringing together NPT members from the Asia-Pacific region to brainstorm ideas for the NPT review period in 2020.

Henk Cor van der Kwast, Dutch permanent representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland, also underlined the importance of more engagement with the P5 in order to make the treaty more effective.

Making allusions to the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Treaty endorsed by ASEAN, the Dutch envoy acknowledged Indonesia’s significant contributions to the nuclear non-proliferation agenda.

“Indonesia is a very big player in the region [...] and I think it’s so important [to have] treaties that refer to and comply with the NPT,” Van der Kwast said on Monday. “[It’s important] that we have a strong push from different sides.”

According to the 2016 joint communiqué of the 49th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Vientiane, ASEAN member states reiterated their commitments to preserve the region as one that is free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

Member states also agreed to continuously engage NPT nuclear-weapon states and intensify ongoing efforts of the SEANWFZ state parties to resolve all outstanding issues, the communiqué stated.

The SEANWFZ Treaty has become increasingly relevant as North Korea continues to defy all international sanctions placed upon it since it withdrew from the NPT in 2003, most recently with the launch of multiple missiles in the East China Sea stoking tensions with Japan.

The bloc is home to the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), one of the few international forums where all members of the Six Party Talks — comprising China, Russia, the United States, Japan, South Korea and North Korea — are able to openly discuss matters on non-proliferation and other common concerns.

Hasan said the NPT was increasingly buckling under pressure due to Pyongyang’s recent antics, owing to the fact there was still no complete ban on nuclear weapons.

“That’s why Indonesia is intent on gathering the NPT state parties so there is a renewed push for a total ban on nuclear weapons,” he said.

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