Southeast Asian Countries
It envisioned a Southeast Asia free from nuclear weapons, with all the NWS committed to the purposes of the SANWFZ Treaty through their adherence to its Protocol. It also envisioned the region to be free from all other WMD, and the ASEAN Regional Forum as an established means for confidence-building and preventive diplomacy and for promoting conflict-resolution. On 17 November, ASEAN and the United States issued a Joint Vision Statement on the ASEAN-US Enhanced Partnership whereby they pledged to step up cooperation in key areas spanning political, security, social, economic, and development spheres. On 5-10 August, the 47th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. In the meeting, the delegates addressed the importance of nuclear nonproliferation, the commitment to Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone and the cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency . On March, the 9th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting was held in Langkawi, Malaysia. On 16