VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The five countries that have global nuclear powers made a joint statement to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, and to avoid conflict as a result of their use.

Citing AFP, the joint statement of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, namely China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States, on Tuesday, January 4, was issued following the latest review of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT) which first took effect in 1970.

Undeniably, there have been frequent tensions between these countries, especially between those in the cold war many decades ago were called  the “west” (US, France, and England),  and the “east” (Russia and China). However, the five world powers view the avoidance of war between nuclear weapons states and the reduction of strategic risks as their main responsibility.

The statement also pledged to comply with a key article in the NPT, that states commit to full nuclear disarmament in the future. The US used nuclear weapons in Japan at the end of World War II. Namely through the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki with a very terrible impact.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appreciated the joint statement by pointing out that the presence of 13,000 nuclear weapons worldwide is a growing threat, with the risk that they could be used at any time. The further spread of such weapons must be prevented. Nuclear war should not happen, given the enormous impact.

Although influential, the joint statement of the five countries will not necessarily be able to eliminate all nuclear weapons in the world. Several other countries, such as Iran, North Korea, India and Pakistan, are also known to have started developing nuclear weapons. While Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons it has never officially acknowledged.

However, the statement of the nuclear weapons prevention agreement is believed to be able to help increase mutual trust between countries. This includes replacing competition among the great powers with coordination and cooperation. In addition, it is hoped that it will also be able to melt tensions that often arise between nuclear power countries such as Russia and the US, which sometimes still leave traces of the Cold War in the past.

The fact that can not be denied is, the potential for nuclear war is basically still there. Many countries are trying to increase their military strength, including nuclear weapons, in order to guard against threats from other parties. In fact, sometimes war can be prevented or even 'won' in various other ways, such as diplomacy, restraint or avoidance. Thus, nuclear war can be avoided, the world can be saved from destruction and the terrible impact on mankind.