[NukeNet] US-India nuclear deal: CNIC article in Japan Times

[Citizens' Nuclear Information Center]

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20070414a1.html

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Japan: Say no to India-U.S. nuclear deal

By PHILIP WHITE
Special to The Japan Times

The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is hardly a household name. The 
proceedings of its meetings are secret and it doesn't even have its own 
web site, but in recent months it has become the focus of more 
attention than usual. The reason is that each of its 45 member 
countries, including Japan, has veto power over a proposal to exempt 
India from international rules restricting nuclear trade.

The issue came to a head in December last year when the U.S. Congress 
amended its Atomic Energy Act to allow nuclear trade with India. The 
legislation included several conditions, including making the deal 
contingent on approval by the NSG. NSG decisions are made by consensus, 
so that means that each member country has a power of veto.

The United States and India had hoped that the NSG would amend its 
guidelines to allow the deal to proceed at its next plenary meeting, 
which will be held in South Africa from April 16 to 19, but it now 
seems likely that member countries will delay the decision until other 
agreements are in place. A formal bilateral agreement between the U.S. 
and India has to be worked out and India has to negotiate a safeguards 
agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The deal places many NSG member countries between a rock and a hard 
place. It has little to recommend it from the point of view of nuclear 
disarmament and nonproliferation. Key nuclear facilities will remain 
outside any safeguards agreement reached with the IAEA, and India has 
repeatedly expressed its unwillingness to give ground on meaningful 
issues, such as ending the production of fissile materials. However, 
countries that are normally strong advocates of nuclear disarmament and 
nonproliferation are reluctant to incur the wrath of the superpower.

For its part, the Indian government is sending high-level delegations 
to lobby NSG countries that show any sign of resistance. Prime Minister 
Manmohan Singh visited Japan in December last year and External Affairs 
Minister Pranab Mukherjee visited in March. Their visits were a 
recognition of Japan's important role in the NSG. So far, however, the 
Japanese government has not committed itself one way or the other.

If any country is qualified to say no to the deal it is Japan. Besides 
the history of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan has a strong record of 
promoting nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. India is not a 
member of the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and it has no intention of 
relinquishing its nuclear weapons, so the U.S.-India nuclear deal flies 
in the face of Japan's long-held stance.

The deal is premised on the unrealistic assumption that the exception 
will apply only to India.

However, Pakistan, supported by China, has demanded the same treatment. 
Indeed, the deal risks provoking a nuclear arms race in South Asia. 
Recognizing that India will be able to increase its production of 
fissile material and nuclear weapons, Pakistan's National Command 
Authority "expressed firm resolve that our credible minimum deterrence 
requirements will be met." Furthermore, the deal will inevitably 
complicate the process of reigning in the nuclear programs of countries 
such as North Korea and Iran.

Endorsement of the U.S.-India nuclear deal would represent a great 
reversal for the NSG. The group was established in 1975 largely in 
response to a "peaceful" nuclear explosion conducted by India the year 
before. And it is only nine years since the world was outraged by 
nuclear weapons tests carried out by both India and Pakistan.

Japan should demonstrate international leadership by opposing this deal 
in the NSG. It should take this opportunity to push India and the U.S. 
to take meaningful steps toward genuine nuclear disarmament. The deal 
on offer at the moment will only entrench the continuing existence of 
nuclear weapons.
Philip White, an Australian, is the International Liaison Officer of 
the Tokyo-based Citizens' Nuclear Information Center. He will represent 
CNIC at the NGO events surrounding the NPT Preparatory Committee to 
meet from April 30 to May 11 in Vienna)
The Japan Times

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