Philippines signs Facility Agreement

The Philippines has today signed a Facility Agreement with the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), granting the Preparatory Commission the necessary legal authority to carry out work on International Monitoring System (IMS) facilities on the territory of the Philippines. The Facility Agreement was signed by Ambassador Victor G. Garcia III on behalf of the Philippines, and by the Executive Secretary, Wolfgang Hoffmann, on behalf of the Commission. The Commission has now signed 25 Facility Agreements with States hosting IMS facilities. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which the Philippines signed on 24 September 1996 and ratified on 23 February 2001, bans all nuclear test explosions. Compliance with the terms of the Treaty is monitored by a global verification regime, which uses seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide technologies to detect evidence of possible nuclear explosions. Under the terms of the CTBT, the Philippines hosts three verification stations: two auxiliary seismic stations at Davao, Mindanao (AS079) and Tagaytay, Luzon (AS080), and a radionuclide station at Quezon City (RN52). These stations form part of the 337-facility International Monitoring System (IMS), a key element in the global verification regime. The IMS consists of 50 primary seismic stations, 120 auxiliary seismic stations, 60 infrasound stations and 11 hydroacoustic stations which monitor vibrations in the atmosphere or under water that may result from a nuclear explosion. The IMS also includes 96 radionuclide facilities which sample or analyse radioactive material which may have been released during a possible nuclear explosion. Data from the IMS stations is transmitted to the International Data Centre (IDC) in Vienna, where it is processed and forwarded to the Member States for their review.

For further information on the CTBTO, please see www.ctbto.org or contact:
Annika Thunborg, Chief, Public Information  
T    +43 1 26030-6375  
E    [email protected]
M    +43 699 1459 6375       
I    www.ctbto.org