KUALA LUMPUR, July 27, 2006 (AFP) - The European Union on Thursday announced it would sign a non-aggression pact with Southeast Asian nations, in a move that signals growing ties between the two blocs. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said accession to the pact was proof of strong ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). "As a signal of the EU's deep interest and commitment to East Asian stability, security and development, I am very pleased to be able to tell you that the EU has decided it should accede to the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC)," Solana said. The deal commits signatories to respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all member countries. Signing of the treaty is also a precursor to membership of the 16-member East Asia Summit, and the EU said it was hopeful it could one day join the grouping. The EU has signalled that it wants to deepen its ties with Asia and said earlier this year that it hoped to launch talks on a free-trade agreement with ASEAN next year. Solana hailed the growing relationship between the EU and ASEAN, which in the past has been troubled by the issue of military-ruled Myanmar, an ASEAN member which is subject to European sanctions. "The relationship and interaction between ASEAN and the EU is now much more about political and security issues, and no longer just the economic issues on which our partnership was originally based," he said. "We have been in regular contact on key international issues, notably the situation in Iran in which we have many shared issues and concerns." The head of the European Union Commission delegation to Malaysia, Thierry Rommel, said the EU decided to accede to the treaty to put EU-ASEAN relations "on an even higher plane." He said that ASEAN would have to amend the TAC, which has so far been signed only by individual nations, in order to allow the 25-member European Union to accede. "What is important is the political message that has been given by the statement," he told AFP. "We will sign as a group, meaning all 25 EU members ... and it means we subscribe to whatever is in the treaty by doing so," said Rommel, adding that ASEAN had yet to formally respond to the EU's offer. France was due this week to become the first European country to ink the pact, but the ceremony has been delayed to December because it is occupied with the Middle East crisis. Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Korea and Russia have already signed the treaty. ey/sls/mc