Filipinos vulnerable to nuclear attack: gov't official

The Philippine government needs to contribute to finding solutions to global problems such as nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, as this will in turn provide better security for its citizens, a senior diplomat said Monday.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said that Filipinos are among the world's most vulnerable to nuclear attack as there are over eight million of them based in areas where there is proliferation of nuclear weapons or most probable target of attacks.

"It is our responsibility in government to protect our people, wherever they may be, and ensure that they feel secure. With millions of Filipinos abroad, we will strive to protect them from harm arising from a nuclear incident, the only way to do this is to curtail the spread of and totally eliminate nuclear weapons," Romulo said in a speech delivered at the opening of the two-day workshop on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) held here.

"We have a world no longer divided when it comes to ending the scourge of nuclear weapons. We have the critical mass to finally be rid of those weapons," Romulo said

The NPT, which took effect in 1970 and was extended indefinitely in 1995, calls for a review to be held every five years to assess the operation and implementation of the treaty.

Among the essential matters of the treaty include the global pursuit of nuclear disarmament, to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to further the goal of nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament, and to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

The Philippines has been elected as president of the 2010 NPT Review Conference and is hosting this week's NPT workshop. Over 90 experts and diplomats from NPT countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France and China came to Manila to participate in the workshop.

Source: Xinhua