Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Sep 08, 2008
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Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Sep 08, 2008 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version | Audio |
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Power Government - Foreign Relations Web Extras - Technology Tech transfer: NSG statement asks members to ‘exercise restraint’ Anil Sasi New Delhi, Sept. 7 The fine print of the Nuclear Suppliers Group’s landmark decision to lift its embargo on nuclear commerce with India reveals the pact to be more of a halfway house between the comprehensive international safeguards sought by the NSG hardliners and the “clean and unconditional” waiver India was keen on. The two-page ‘NSG’s Statement on Civil Nuclear Cooperation with India’ makes a clear reference to the crucial subject of enrichment and reprocessing transfers, a key prerequisite for India’s plans to set up imported light water reactor-based capacities in the future. The statement approves the transfer of “trigger list items and/or related technologies to India for peaceful purposes for use in IAEA safeguarded civil nuclear facilities” and “nuclear-related dual-use equipment, materials, software and related technologies”, provided India adheres to the NSG’s guidelines (INFCIRC/254/Part 1 and INFCIRC/254/Part 2 respectively). Paragraph 3a, however, categorically maintains that Paragraphs 6 and 7 of the NSG standard guidelines will continue to apply in these transfers, implying that the NSG members should “exercise utmost restraint” with respect to transfers of dual-use technologies and enrichment and reprocessing technologies to India. The statement stops short of making an upfront connection between India’s non-proliferation commitment and the NSG’s decision to allow nuclear trade and its possible termination of engagements in the future. Besides, Paragraph 3 clearly says that the “basis” of the waiver includes India’s July 2005 pledges and the External Affairs Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee’s statement on September 5, which contained a pledge to maintain India’s nuclear test moratorium. Paragraph 2g of the statement takes specific note of India’s voluntary commitment on “continuing its unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing, and its readiness to work with others towards the conclusion of a multilateral Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty”. On the issue of imposition of permanent safeguards on Indian facilities, Paragraph 2a refers to India’s March 2006 “separation plan”, under which India will put at least eight additional nuclear power reactors under IAEA safeguards by 2014. Currently, six Indian nuclear reactors are under IAEA safeguards. As part of the review of the waiver process among member countries, Paragraph 3c and 3e mandate NSG members to report on their nuclear transfers to India and consult regularly on India’s “implementation” and “compliance” with its stated non-proliferation commitments.
According to the Washington DC-based Arms Control Association, with the NSG refraining from an explicit mention of the consequences of an Indian nuclear test, a host of NSG States, including Austria, China, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland, have subsequently issued national statements laying out their views on how the NSG’s policy on India will be implemented. This is broadly in line with India’s demand that conditions that individual countries may want for engaging with India should not be frontloaded on to the final NSG waiver and, instead, each country can separately prescribe its own conditions for commencing nuclear trade with India once the waiver is through. While Japan noted that the exemption for India was decided on the condition that India continues to observe its commitments, especially its nuclear test moratorium pledge. Japan noted that if India resumed testing, "the logical consequence is to terminate trade." Germany, meanwhile, has said that it expects India to take further non-proliferation and disarmament measures, including "entry into force of the CTBT and a termination of fissile material production for weapons." India crosses a nuclear hurdle with NSG waiver More Stories on : Power | Foreign Relations | Technology
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