Jakarta, July 9 -- Foreign Minister Sugiono has underscored the importance of ASEAN's consistency in preserving Southeast Asia as a nuclear weapon-free zone amid rising global nuclear risks.

He made the statement at the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Commission Meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting/Post-Ministerial Conferences (AMM/PMC) at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center on Tuesday.

"We are facing an alarming global disarmament landscape. Arms control efforts have stagnated, nuclear stockpiles are increasing, and nuclear-armed states' commitments to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) are weakening," Sugiono said, accordimg to a statement released by his ministry in Ja...