In its new role as this year’s head of Asean, Cambodia sent a letter Friday the world’s five nuclear powers requesting they sign onto a treaty to keep Southeast Asia free of nuclear weapons.
The letter was delivered to China, France, Russia, the UK and the United States.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said by signing onto the treaty, the five states would be strengthening an international non-proliferation treaty.
Independent political analyst Lao Monghay said the Asean policy was modeled off a US policy to prevent nuclear weapon proliferation from states such as North Korea and Iran.
“It would be a success for Cambodia and the Asean countries if the Asean zone were to be free from nuclear weapons,” he said. “This is a good thing, particularly in the context of the strategy of the world’s nuclear powers right now.”