Malta-US concluding talks on ship-boarding agreement

Talks between Malta and the United States on a ship-boarding agreement are approaching a successful conclusion, Foreign Minister Michael Frendo told Parliament yesterday.

The agreement will authorise inspectors, on a bilateral basis, to board and search Maltese or US-flagged ships suspected of carrying illicit shipments of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, or related materials.

This agreement, the minister said, reflected the seriousness of the Maltese maritime flag and the importance which Malta gave the international rule of law.

Dr Frendo was speaking at the end of a debate on a motion for Malta to ratify the Convention on Nuclear Safety of the International Atomic Agency (IAEA).

At the introduction of the debate Dr Frendo said this convention was adopted in 1994 in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster and was aimed at making it easier for countries to work together for safer use of nuclear energy. The purpose of the convention was to establish a high standard of nuclear safety and environmentally sound practices.

Although Malta did not have nuclear power stations, it had an interest in the convention because it backed efforts for global nuclear safety. What took place in one country affected many others, as the Chernobyl incident showed.

This convention also fell within the context of Malta's insistence that all countries should respect the international rule of law. Countries having nuclear installations had a duty to respect the rights and concerns of their neighbours.

Turning to weapons of mass destruction, Dr Frendo recalled that Malta's initiative on the law of the sea convention had also lent itself to a 1972 convention banning nuclear weapons on the ocean floor. Malta always insisted that nuclear technology should only be used for peaceful means and in the UN it had applied to join the New Agenda coalition. It was also a party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Dr Frendo recalled that Malta's Radiation Protection Board was set up in 2003 as the national regulatory authority for controlling radiation sources and practices involving the use of ionising radiation. The International Atomic Agency had consistently given financial assistance to Malta, averaging $500,000 annually, to help in the use of nuclear-related equipment for the good of humanity, such as in hospitals.

Malta was also vigilant, along with other countries, in preventing the unauthorised transport of dual use equipment which could be used to produce weapons of mass destruction, Dr Frendo said.

Leo Brincat, opposition spokesman on foreign affairs, said Malta had a duty to contribute towards a solution of international problems stemming from terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, more so as these two threats could become interwoven.

A terrorist attack involving the use of a weapon of mass destruction was one of the biggest threats currently faced by the world but one could also not ignore the possibility of an "accidental war" through the accidental firing of a nuclear weapon.

A more recent area of concern was Iran's entry into the nuclear arena and the fear that this would trigger a war with Israel which, it was now well known, had its own nuclear programme. Developments in North Korea and Asia also had to be closely watched. Reports yesterday that the US and North Korea were involved in secret contacts to resolve the standoff and that six-party talks would resume were welcome.

In the midst of all this one could not but praise Libya for having courageously renounced the development of nuclear weapons and he hoped this example would be followed.

Mr Brincat said the Non-Proliferation Treaty remained important, particularly the additional protocol providing for increased vigilance against the transfer of dual use nuclear technology. Such treaties, however, had to be accompanied by an international commitment to make them work. The international community had a duty to press more countries, such as Israel, to join the NPT and enforce the additional protocol. One could no longer tolerate double standards where an eye was closed to developments in one country while protests were made against others. He did not agree with the Iranian nuclear programme, but one could understand the argument that for as long as the world ignored the Israeli nuclear programme, other countries felt justified in having their own.

His appeal was particularly to all Mediterranean countries to ratify all international disarmament conventions. The Labour MP said he hoped the call made last weekend by IAE head Mohammed El Baradei calling for a "time out" for Iran to stop nuclear enrichment and the UN to stop the process to impose sanctions would take root.

He also hoped that the international community, including the US would not resort to isolating countries such as non-nuclear Syria and Iran because that would be counter-productive. Dialogue was always the most effective way to move things forward.

Nuclear technology was not all about weaponry, however. It had major uses in the medical sector and also generated 16 per cent of world electrical output.

Initiatives such as the proposed International partnership for nuclear energy should be supported since they would provide various countries with the fruits of nuclear technology, without the proliferation of nuclear programmes.

Michael Asciak (PN) referred to the Iranian nuclear programme and warned Europe and the US against acting in a way which united and pushed the Arab world against them.

He also cautioned over the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the risk of such weapons falling into the hands of terrorists.

Turning to peaceful uses of nuclear technology, Dr Asciak said nuclear fission was in future expected to give way to nuclear fusion which could eliminate the problem posed by the disposal of nuclear waste. It would therefore make nuclear power stations cleaner and more attractive. Should that be the case one could not exclude the possibility that Malta would involve itself in the use of this energy, although this was many decades away.

Dr Asciak referred to the use in Malta of medical and security equipment having radioactive materials and the transit, close to Malta, of nuclear powered ships, and said such potential dangers underlined the need for an organisation to serve as a point of reference in Malta.

Concluding the debate, Dr Frendo said the International Atomic Agency, while helping Malta in the provision and use of medical equipment using radioactivity had also helped Malta in the training of personnel in the Civil Protection Department against the possibility of an accident.

The minister said he concurred with Mr Brincat's comments on how Libya had renounced the use of weapons of mass destruction.

He said the use of nuclear weapons, even in the Gulf, could have an impact on Malta, hence Malta's policies promoting dialogue, security, stability and international cooperation. In this vein Malta backed EU efforts to see Iran following IAEA directions for the peaceful use of nuclear technology. While Malta would apply sanctions ordered by the United Nations, it augured that Iran would integrate itself in the international community.

The minister said talks with the US on a ship boarding agreement were approaching a successful conclusion. The agreement would govern inspections of Maltese and US-flagged ships so as to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

This agreement, the minister said, reflected the seriousness of the Maltese maritime flag and the importance Malta gave to the international rule of law.

The motion was then unanimously approved.