U.S. Seeks To Bring India into Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime
22 March 2006
State Department official praises India's respect for nonproliferation principles
By David Shelby
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington – A senior U.S. government official says it is time to bring India into the international nuclear nonproliferation regime given its historic adherence to the principles of nonproliferation.
“The curious aspect of the current nonproliferation regime globally is that some countries that are inside the regime – I’m thinking here of Iran and North Korea – have not met their commitments to the NPT [nuclear nonproliferation treaty] regime and in fact are cheating and have cheated on those commitments. And the anomaly is that some countries on the outside – and India is the most prominent of those – are adhering to the regulations of the nonproliferation regime, but they’re not allowed in,” Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns told reporters in Washington March 22.
Burns said that India was not allowed to enter the nonproliferation regime in the 1970s for historical reasons. The NPT, which opened for signature in 1968, restricts the possession of nuclear weapons to those countries that tested them before 1967. India, which tested its first nuclear device in 1974, never signed the treaty. Consequently, it has been barred from trading nuclear-related materials with the 35-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which seeks to limit weapons proliferation through trade regulations.
However, the Bush administration has proposed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement that would allow India to engage in international trade in nuclear materials to support the Indian civil nuclear power program. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed the agreement during Bush’s visit to India in early March. (See related article.)
Burns said that India deserves exceptional treatment because it consistently has acted as a responsible member of the international community.
“India is a country that is governed by the rule of law. India is a country that has not proliferated its nuclear material unlike many other countries that are signatories to the nonproliferation regime. And therefore India is a country that can be trusted,” he said.
He pointed out that India has volunteered to place three-fourths of its civilian nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
“Think what that means,” he said. “India is accepting international oversight, accepting international inspections. Who can argue with that? Who wouldn’t want to see the largest country in the world, the largest democracy in the world come into the international system and really submit itself to inspections? We think that’s a net gain, a strong one for the international proliferation system.”
BUSH ADMINISTRATION URGING CONGRESSIONAL ACTION
Bush administration officials are currently in discussions with members of the U.S. Congress to request an India-specific waiver to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. The existing U.S. law restricts the ability of U.S. companies to trade nuclear technology with foreign countries outside the nonproliferation regime.
If the Congress agrees to the changes, administration officials would have to convince members of the NSG to revise its practices as well. Burns was optimistic that the NSG would support the initiative.
“I’m confident that if the U.S. government can convince the Congress to do what we’re asking, I think that there will be a very strong tide of support in the NSG in favor of this,” he said. He said Australia, France, Great Britain and Russia – four key members of the NSG – already have expressed their support. He also cited a recent statement from IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei saying the deal would strengthen the nonproliferation regime.
Burns said that the proposed civil nuclear cooperation agreement is in the interests of India’s neighbors as well, since it brings the majority of India’s civil nuclear program under IAEA safeguards.
“That ought to be a fairly attractive proposition to all the neighbors of India,” he said.
He dismissed the idea that the deal would bring instability or an arms race to South Asia.
U.S. Ambassador to the IAEA Gregory Schulte, speaking to an audience in London March 16, also pointed out the benefits of the agreement to global energy security and the environment.
Because India soon will be the most populous country in the world, Schulte said, it is to everyone’s benefit for India to address its growing energy needs with clean nuclear energy instead of fossil fuels.
A transcript of Schulte’s remarks is available on the Web site of the U.S. Mission to International Organizations.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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