Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Cambodia's Joining The Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCOC)

February 4, 2004

Japan welcomes Cambodia's joining the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCOC), news which it received from a document dated January 29 from the central contact (Austria) of the HCOC.
Cambodia's joining the HCOC with respect to Japan's efforts is to be congratulated as making progress in ballistic missile non-proliferation efforts in the ASEAN region.
Recognizing that the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the proliferation of their means of delivery are serious threats to international and regional peace and security, Japan has been engaging in efforts for the non-proliferation of ballistic missiles and the WMD as issues that directly concern the security of Japan and the Asian region and has appealed to the ASEAN countries to join the HCOC, which is the first international norm for the non-proliferation of ballistic missiles. Japan intends to continue to cooperate with other member countries to gain wider support to universalize the HCOC.

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