India, U.S. Quell Domestic Critics of Nuclear Trade Deal

U.S. and Indian officials have interpreted controversial terms of a pending nuclear trade deal in different ways, seeking support from their respective lawmakers, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, Aug. 14).

In particular, the officials have offered somewhat contradictory descriptions of what would happen to the deal if India were to resume nuclear testing, according to AFP.

The deal calls for the United States to sell nuclear technology and materials to India by exempting New Delhi from decades-old nuclear nonproliferation laws that prohibit such sales to nations that have not joined the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.  In exchange, India has agreed to place its civilian nuclear sector under international monitoring.

Critics in both nations have expressed concern over how the deal affects India’s nuclear weapons program and its freedom to test nuclear weapons.  Conservative and leftists lawmakers in India have said the deal would restrict the nation’s ability to develop its military nuclear activities.  U.S. critics have said the agreement would do little to discourage a new round of tests because it appears to promise continuing U.S. support following a test, even if U.S. supplies are halted (P. Parameswaran, Agence France-Presse I/Yahoo!News, Aug. 15).

Officials in both countries have tried to rebut the objections.

“The agreement does not in any way affect India’s right to undertake future nuclear tests, if it is necessary in India’s national interest,” Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told parliament Monday.  “Let me hence reiterate once again that a decision to undertake a future nuclear test would be our sovereign decision, one that rests solely with the government.  There is nothing in the agreement that would tie the hands of a future government or legally constrain its options to protect India’s security and defense needs” (Prime Minister Manmohan Singh release, Aug. 13).

The U.S. State Department has offered a different interpretation of the so-called “123 agreement,” named for section of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act.

“The proposed 123 agreement has provisions in it that in an event of a nuclear test by India, then all nuclear cooperation is terminated,” spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday.

The deal’s text, however, does not specifically mention how it would be affected by an Indian test.  Most U.S. nuclear cooperation agreements with other nations include specific language giving Washington the right to cancel the cooperation following a nuclear test, AFP reported (Parameswaran, Agence France-Presse I).

The U.S.-Indian agreement does not mention nuclear testing in its “termination and cessation” clause, but in another section the United States appears to promise to help India find alternative nuclear suppliers in case U.S. support is cut off.

“If … a disruption of fuel supplies to India occurs, the United States and India would jointly convene a group of friendly supplier countries to include countries such as Russia, France and the United Kingdom to pursue such measures as would restore fuel supply to India,” the text says (U.S. State Department release, Aug. 3).

Meanwhile, Singh and U.S. President George W. Bush spoke by telephone yesterday to reaffirm their support for the deal.  Singh addressed a tumultuous parliamentary session Monday (see GSN, Aug. 13), and Bush must gain congressional approval of the deal before it can proceed.

“The civil nuclear agreement has many wonderful aspects to it, one of them being bringing India into the system of some monitoring and compliance,” Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said yesterday (Agence France-Presse II/Yahoo!News, Aug. 14).

In Moscow, Indian nuclear envoy Shyam Saran reported yesterday that he received Russia’s “firm backing” for the deal from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Russian support is critical because the deal’s implementation requires the approval of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, a body that informally sets international nuclear trade guidelines.

Lavrov promised Russia’s “firm support for India in the NSG,” Saran said.  “Moscow is the first capital I am visiting, as Russia is our time-tested strategic partner and is already working on the ground in nuclear cooperation.”

Next for Saran are visits to Germany, Brazil and Argentina, the Press Trust of India reported (Vinay Shukla, Press Trust of India/OutlookIndia.com, Aug. 14).

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