Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh has stated that the country supports all efforts towards nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh. Photo: TGVN

He made the televised statement at the UNGA High-Level Meeting on October 2 to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

Vietnam’s top diplomat said that since the end of the Second World War with the devastations caused by atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world has made significant strides. A system of multilateral and bilateral frameworks for nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and arms control, has been built. The global nuclear stockpiles have been reduced by three quarters since the peak of the Cold War. A moratorium on nuclear tests have been implemented by most nuclear weapons states. Five nuclear weapon-free zones covering over 100 states have been created, including the South East Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone established by ASEAN in 1995.

Yet, the prospect of total elimination of nuclear weapons remains elusive. The current nuclear stockpile possesses enough power to end the world today, while the risks of spreading nuclear weapons to irresponsible non-state actors remain. Growing tensions among nuclear weapons states is putting the global machinery under extreme pressure.

“Vietnam supports all efforts towards nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and has become member to all international treaties to this endeavor, including the NPT [Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons], the CTBT [Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty] and most recently, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons,” Mr. Minh stressed.

“We call upon the nuclear weapons states to step up in their commitment to the obligation to general disarmament under Article VI of the NPT. Trust in the multilateral disarmament architecture must be re-established. Regional architectures need to play a more expansive role in establishing and implementing nuclear weapon-free zones in all areas.”

As the ASEAN Chair in 2020, Vietnam remains committed to preserving the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone, and will continue to engage with all parties to intensify efforts to resolve outstanding issues in the implementation of the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone. Meanwhile, the rights of states to use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes must be respected, he said.