PH joins cross-regional push for treaty vs. fissile material

MANILA – The Philippine government has joined a cross-regional call for the immediate start of negotiations on a treaty that would ban the production of fissile material used in nuclear weapons.

Fissile materials such as highly enriched uranium and plutonium are essential raw materials in manufacturing nuclear weapons.

The proposal for a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT), which is seen to prevent the expansion of nuclear arsenal among countries, has been around for years, but actual negotiations have yet to begin.

“The finalization and entry into force of a multilateral, non-discriminatory, and effectively verifiable FMCT are both critical and urgent,” said Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, in her remarks at the First FMCT Friends Ministerial Meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 24.

Lazaro described the FMCT as a “much-needed pillar” in global security, citing rising geopolitical tensions and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, Europe, and South and East Asia.

She also raised concern over the “rapid expansion of nuclear arsenals” in the Asia-Pacific region, warning that such developments undermine the Non-Proliferation Treaty and decades of progress toward nuclear disarmament.

In Asia-Pacific alone, Lazaro raised the alarm over a “rapid expansion of nuclear arsenals”—moves she said go against the spirit of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and gains in nuclear disarmament in the past decades.

“The threat of use of nuclear weapons intensifies current strategic competition and protracted conflicts in Europe, the Middle East, South and East Asia,” she said.

“These geopolitical complexities, more so, demand immense collective effort to achieve a nuclear weapons-free world. Existing commitments to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation must be upheld. There is no room for backsliding,” she added.

The FMCT Friends group is composed of both nuclear and non-nuclear weapon states working to increase political momentum for the treaty.

Its members include the Philippines, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The inaugural FMCT Ministerial Meeting was chaired by Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi.

At the gathering, member states adopted a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to a “non-discriminatory, multilateral, and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.”

The US participated as an observer. — Joyce Ann L. Rocamora (PNA)