Philippines
At the First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (1MSP) in June 2022, the Philippines said: ‘The humanitarian thrust of the TPNW becomes even more relevant today in the face of an increasingly insecure global security environment. … This first meeting provides us the opportunity to act with wisdom, decisiveness, and a renewed sense of purpose and urgency to reinvigorate the nuclear disarmament agenda.’[1]
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compliant |
| Test | Compliant | |
| Possess or stockpile | Compliant | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compliant |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compliant |
| (d) | Use | Compliant |
| Threaten to use | Compliant | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compliant |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compliant |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compliant |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Voted yes (2023) |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 13 (38%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 2001, Bangkok) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1972) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2001) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1973) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1996) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | No |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | Cleared |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
At the Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in August 2022, the Philippines said that ‘the Filipino people’s aspiration to achieve freedom from the threat of nuclear weapons’ inspired it to join the TPNW. Nuclear weapons ‘are repugnant to global public consciences’ and have been ‘outlawed by the TPNW,’ it said.2 In a closing statement to the NPT Review Conference, the Philippines and 64 other TPNW supporters urged ‘all states committed to attain and maintain a world without nuclear weapons to join the TPNW without delay’.3
Marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2022, the Philippines stressed that nuclear deterrence is ‘an obsolete security concept’ and nuclear weapons are ‘a source of insecurity, posing humanitarian risks and existential threat to all mankind’.4
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2022, the Philippines called on states that have not done so to accede to the TPNW.5
The Philippines was one of the co-sponsors for the 2022 UN General Assembly resolution on the TPNW, which called upon ‘all States that have not yet done so to sign, ratify, accept, approve or accede to the Treaty at the earliest possible date.'6 The Philippines is an interesting example of how TPNW membership and US security guarantees are not as incompatible as is often alleged. In November 2022, US Vice President Kamala Harris travelled to the Philippines to launch ‘new initiatives to strengthen the US-Philippines Alliance’. Washington will defend the Philippines if it comes under attack in the South China Sea, pledged Harris, reaffirming the United States’ ‘unwavering’ commitment.7 A White House statement issued on the occasion said: ‘Now and always, the U.S. commitment to the defense of the Philippines is ironclad.’8
Recommendations
- The Philippines should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
- The Philippines should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.