All new participants, who will all be sovereign states, must subscribe to, and work cooperatively to, help achieve the ARF s key goals. All applications for participation should be submitted to the Chairman of the ARF, who will consult all the other ARF participants at the SOM and ascertain whether a consensus exists for the admission of the new participant. Actual decisions on participation will be approved by the Ministers. The Meeting discussed a wide range of issues relevant to the question of peace and security of the Asia-Pacific region. This is consistent with the 1995 NPT Review welcoming the development of further nuclear weapons free zones.
Nuclear testing remains a concern in the region.
The Meeting welcomed the end of nuclear testing in the South Pacific and confirmed their understanding that the Asia-Pacific region would shortly be free of nuclear testing. The Meeting expressed the hope that the on-going negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament to be reconvened on 29 July 1996 would lead to a CTBT which would receive the support of all concerned parties. With reference to the issue of the global elimination of anti-personnel mines, the Meeting welcomed the decisions of several states to impose moratoria and ban on the production, export, and operational use of these weapons. The Meeting recognized the need, following conflict, for reinforcing international support for efforts to detect and remove landmines and to assist victims. On the South China Sea, the Meeting welcomed the efforts by countries concerned to seek solutions by peaceful means in accordance with international law in general and with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 in particular.