The Hindu : New Delhi News : `We share concern of nuclear scientists'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 22, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

`We share concern of nuclear scientists'

Special Correspondent

Separating civilian and military nuclear facilities would be difficult, says Vajpayee

NEW DELHI: Giving its first considered reaction to the July 18 Indo-U.S. joint statement signed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and American President George Bush, The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said that the Bush administration "may have recognised India as a responsible state with advanced nuclear technology" but was "far from recognising India as a legitimate and responsible nuclear weapons state." It was reacting to the July 18 Indo-U.S. joint statement, signed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. President George Bush.

In a statement here on Wednesday, the former Prime Minister and National Democratic Alliance chairman, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said that the BJP shared the "concern" and "consternation" of India's nuclear scientists and defence analysts. It would be difficult, if not impossible and prohibitively expensive, to separate India's civilian and military nuclear facilities as its "military programmes" were a "a small fraction" of its nuclear facilities.

Nuclear deterrent

Mr. Vajpayee said the new arrangement could deny India the right to determine the size of its nuclear deterrent on the basis of its own threat perception. "Though we believe in a minimum credible deterrent, the size of the deterrent must be determined from time to time on the basis of our own threat perception. This is a judgment which cannot be surrendered to anyone else."

He said that by accepting a separation of civilian and military nuclear facilities, "we have accepted a crucial provision of a future fissile material cut-off treaty even before such an international treaty has been fully negotiated and put into force by other nuclear weapons states."

While India had made "long-term and specific commitments," the U.S. had "merely made promises" which Mr. Bush "may not be able to see through either the U.S. Congress or its friends in the exclusive nuclear club."

Restrictions on research

Other issues mentioned by Mr. Vajpayee were the "restrictions" that might now be put on our research programmes. In this context, he mentioned the thorium research programme, which could give us freedom from nuclear fuel imports. The Government, he said, owed an explanation as to what would happen to that programme.

He also objected to the Additional Protocol, under which civilian nuclear facilities would be opened to intrusive international inspections "anywhere, anytime." On issues such as the International Thermo-Nuclear Experimental Reactor and the Generation IV International Forum (a joint project of 10 countries that aims at competitively priced nuclear energy that is safe and resistant to proliferation), the U.S. commitment "could have been more forthright."

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