CEBU, Philippines, Dec 6, 2006 (AFP) - France will next week sign a non-aggression treaty with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, becoming the first European country to do so, an official said Wednesday. French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy is due to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) on Monday, said Luis Cruz, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) director-general at the Philippine foreign ministry. The signing will be done on the sidelines of the annual ASEAN summit being held in the central Philippine province of Cebu. France was due to sign the pact last July in Malaysia, but Douste-Blazy could not make it because of the crisis spawned by Israel's bombardment of Lebanon. Signing of the treaty, which bans signatories from using violence to settle conflicts in the region, is also one of the conditions for entry into the 16-nation East Asia Summit (EAS). The EAS, a two-year-old regional grouping, covers all 10 ASEAN states as well as Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. The group, whose summit coincides with that of ASEAN, has a current moratorium on new memberships. Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Korea and Russia have also signed the TAC along with the ASEAN members themselves. France would become the third permanent member of the UN Security Council to sign the agreement besides China and Russia. The other permanent members of the council are the United States and Britain. mba/kw/skj