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11 May 2004

U.S., Panama to Sign New Reciprocal Accord on Inspecting Ships

Agreement to be signed May 12 at State Department

By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The United States and Panama will sign a new reciprocal agreement May 12 at the U.S. State Department in Washington, regarding the checking of ships for weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

The State Department said John Bolton, the under secretary of state for arms control and international security, will sign the accord for the United States, and Panama's minister of government and justice, Arnuflo Escalona, would sign for his country.

A State Department official said the agreement adds Panama to more than 10 other countries participating in the Proliferation and Security Initiative, aimed at controlling WMD on the high seas. President Bush announced the new security initiative in Krakow, Poland, on May 31, 2003. Bush administration officials have described the initiative as an effort "to reinforce, not replace, existing nonproliferation regimes to curb the spread of WMD, ballistic missiles and related technology to states and non-state actors of proliferation concern."

The president said that over time, the United States and a number of its close allies would extend the initiative "as broadly as possible to keep the world's most destructive weapons away from our shores and out of the hands of our common enemies."

The State Department official explained that the new accord with Panama aims to "exert some sort of control over the threat of WMD or chemical materials being transported across open seas anywhere in the world." The accord allows for inspections of ships carrying the U.S. or Panamanian flag if the vessels are suspected of transporting nuclear, chemical, or biological arms or equipment.

The State Department said the accord is consistent with the international law of the sea and, in particular, "fully respects" Panama's exclusive jurisdiction over its ships on the high seas. The State Department also said the accord sends a strong signal that the United States and Panama will not allow the use of their vessels for the transport or transfer of items of "proliferation concern."

The agreement follows a similar pact signed between the United States and Liberia in February 2004. The addition of Panama and Liberia to the proliferation security initiative means that almost 15 percent of the world's large cargo ships are now subject to being boarded and inspected on short notice for unconventional weapons.

The State Department's Bolton has said that the sole purpose of the Proliferation and Security Initiative "is to interdict WMD trafficking at sea, in the air, and on land." It is not about stopping illegal drug shipments or blockading so-called "rogue" nations as North Korea, he said.

James Cunningham, deputy U.S. representative to the United Nations, said April 28 that the United States is pleased that so many countries "are working with us to interdict shipments of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, their means of delivery, and related materials."

"No one nation can meet this challenge alone," Cunningham said. "We hope that all states will join us" in the proliferation security initiative and other cooperative efforts "consistent with national and international legal authorities to stop the flow of these deadly weapons and materials. Halting such traffic is in the interest of all of us."

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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