Defense Ministry worried about possible spread of instability from Asia Pacific rgn
COLOMBO (Sri Lanka). Nov 27 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Defense Ministry is concerned about instability in a number of Asia Pacific countries and its possible spread into countries bordering Russia, Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said.
"Although the Asia Pacific region is relatively stable compared to other territories, I think no one doubts the simultaneous presence of a considerable potential for conflict. Territorial disputes, unsettled border claims and outbreaks of armed confrontations are sources of tensions," he said in Colombo on Thursday, speaking at the first conference of the Dialogue of Defense Ministers of South and Southeast Asian nations.
"The situation on the Korean Peninsula cannot be ignored due to the need for its denuclearization and the assistance to national reconciliation between the North and the South," he said.
"Instability in a number of regional countries and the possibility of its spread into countries bordering Russia, primarily, Central Asia, is also worrying," Antonov said.
The Asia Pacific region "has also become a breeding ground for such untraditional security threats as international terrorism, drug trafficking, piracy and other types of organized crime," he continued.
"We still have to do a lot for strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime based on the NPT Treaty and conventions banning chemical, biological and toxin weapons. It is important that all countries of South and Southeast Asia ratify the additional protocol to the Comprehensive Guarantee Agreement. We also call on everyone who have not signed and/or ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) to do so," Antonov said.