PHNOM PENH, June 18 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday appealed for Asian nations to see HIV/AIDS as a security threat, saying the recent SARS epidemic had demonstrated the destructive nature of infectious disease.
Powell told the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF) that unless such a determination was made, AIDS would likely destroy individual countries and destabilize the entire region, making it a much more potent threat than a nuclear weapon, a senior State Department official said.
"There is another threat to the region and the world that already has been more destructive than any weapon of mass destruction, more destructive than any army's activities and any conflict, but which is not generally perceived to be a security threat: HIV/AIDS," the official quoted Powell as saying.
"ARF and ASEAN must come to grips with this challenge before it is too late," Powell said, announcing that US envoys in the region would meet later this month in Bangkok to discuss ways in which Washington could assist.
"Collectively and individually, ASEAN and ARF members can save countless lives and stem the tide of the disease by speaking out to raise awareness and by promoting effective programs of prevention and care throughout the region," the official quoted Powell as saying.
US President George W. Bush has pledged to spend some 15 billion dollars to help curb the spread of the disease throughout the world, mainly in Africa and the Caribbean, but Powell said Washington was also eager to get Asia into the program.
According to the United Nations, HIV/AIDS is still spreading throughout East Asia and the Pacific with between two and 3.5 million people of all ages infected.
Powell reminded his listeners of the disastrous effects caused in region by the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and said those alone were reasons to act, the senior official said.
"The SARS epidemic has shown us firsthand the enormous social, political and economic toll that infectious disease can take," Powell said, according to the official.
"HIV/AIDS is not just a health an humanitarian issue," he said. "If left to rage, it tears the fabrics of societies, undermines governments and devastates economies.
"It can destroy countries and destabilize entire regions ... In Asia, millions are affected. Unless we act, millions will die. No country is immune, all countries are vulnerable," Powell said, according to the official.
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