Press Releases
The 19th Asia Senior-Level Talks on Non-Proliferation (ASTOP)
October 4, 2024
- On October 3 and 4, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan hosted the 19th Asia Senior-Level Talks on Non-Proliferation (ASTOP). Government officials including Director-Generals in charge from ASEAN member states such as Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Australia, Canada, China, EU, France, Germany, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, United States and Japan participated in the meeting.
- In his opening remarks, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs FUKAZAWA Yoichi stated that he expected this meeting would serve as an opportunity to further strengthen efforts and partnership towards the shared non-proliferation objectives in the Asia-Pacific where serious proliferation challenges continue to exist, including issues related to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
- This meeting was chaired by Mr. NAKAMURA Kimitake, Ambassador, Director-General of Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Science Department and the participants actively exchanged views mainly on the following topics:
(1) Efforts to address various proliferation challenges in Asia, including proliferation financing and export circumvention,
(2) Efforts and challenges in strengthening export control and cooperation in capacity building and the universalization of the Arms Trade Treaty,
(3) International non-proliferation efforts, such as Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI)
(4) Strengthening of international norms related to non-proliferation, including the universalization of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Additional Protocol
(5) Efforts and Importance of the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCoC)