Many countries have signed agreements to accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.

On the 24th local time, at the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Manila, the Philippines, four countries including Poland, Romania, Sweden and Lithuania signed the agreement to accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, officially becoming new member states of the treaty.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, and China is the first major country to accede to the treaty. The treaty was initiated and signed by ASEAN member states in 1976. The purposes and principles of the treaty include mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all countries, respect for the right of all nations to maintain their national existence free from external interference, subversion and sanctions, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, peaceful settlement of differences or disputes, and opposition to the use or threat of use of force.

Source: CCTV News