The approval will make China the first to join the treaty among all of the major countries outside of Southeast Asia and it will also further co-operative relations between China and the ASEAN member countries, lawmakers said.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in the State Council's motion the treaty and its two amending protocols do not contradict Chinese laws and the country's entry will help boost the full development of China-ASEAN relations.

The Treaty was signed by the then members of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bali, Indonesia on February 24, 1976. The treaty has been amended twice respectively in 1987 and 1998, making it open to membership for countries outside of Southeast Asia.

It says that member parties shall deal with one another by the following fundamental principles:

Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all nations;

The right of every state to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion;

Non-interference in the internal affairs of one another;

Settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful means;

Renunciation of the threat or use of force;

Effective co-operation among member nations.

(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2003)