President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has pledged to persuade other countries to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) to secure global safety from nuclear threats.
Marcos made the commitment to Robert Floyd, CTBTO executive secretary, during the anti-nuclear official’s courtesy call in Malacañang on Tuesday.
“We’ll do our best. We are familiar with the process,” the President told Floyd.
In a statement Wednesday, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said Floyd had sought the President’s assistance in convincing the leaders of Tonga, Bhutan, and Nepal to sign and ratify the CTBT, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on September 10, 1996.
The CTBT prohibits “any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion” globally and enforces sanctions on violators.
Since 1996, 187 nations have signed the treaty, with 178 having ratified it.
Floyd said Tonga is the last South Pacific country to sign and ratify the treaty. He added that Nepal has not ratified the treaty yet because “they just haven’t managed to get the ratification process through the Parliament yet.”
“One of the difficulties they keep changing their leaders is it’s hard to get the process completed,” he noted.
According to the PCO, the treaty cannot formally enter into force until it is ratified by 44 specific nations, nine of which still need to do so.
These countries include China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States.
"The Philippines recognizes the critical role of the CTBT as a key confidence-building mechanism to promote cooperation among states and resolve regional and global security issues," the PCO added.
In his social media post, Marcos said he met with Floyd to reaffirm Manila’s commitment to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
“In a nuclear war, no one wins. A world free from nuclear threat is a safer home for all,” Marcos said.