The Hindu : Front Page : U.S. raises the bar on nuclear deal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 04, 2005

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U.S. raises the bar on nuclear deal

Siddharth Varadarajan

New Delhi: In their clearest detailing to date of what the Indian Government must do to see the United States uphold its side of the July 18 nuclear agreement, Bush administration officials have stipulated that India sign a more restrictive safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency than either the U.S. or any of the other four "recognised" nuclear weapon states has done.

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Robert G. Joseph said a "voluntary offer" safeguards arrangement of the kind the U.S. has with the IAEA would not be acceptable for India. "We indicated at the recent G-8 and NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group) meetings that we would not view a voluntary offer arrangement as defensible from a non-proliferation standpoint or consistent with the [July 18] Joint Statement, and therefore do not believe that it would constitute an acceptable safeguards arrangement."

Mr. Joseph stipulated two further preconditions: safeguards "must be applied in perpetuity" and "must confirm ... [that] nuclear materials in the civil sector should not be transferred out of the civil sector."

The "voluntary offer" agreements the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and China have signed with the IAEA — and their associated Additional Protocols — contain national security exclusions, which allow the removal of civilian facilities from safeguards and the transfer of nuclear materials out of them.

Mr. Joseph's testimony undercuts a key claim made by the United Progressive Alliance Government after the July 18 agreement that India has only agreed to the "same responsibilities and practices ... as other leading countries with advanced nuclear technology."

A note issued by the Prime Minister's Office on July 29 stated that India "has committed [itself] to taking reciprocally exactly the same steps that other nuclear weapon states have taken. ... An argument has been made that separation into civilian and military programmes will rob India of flexibility if that is required by unanticipated circumstances. Nuclear weapon states, including the U.S., have the right to shift facilities from civilian category to military and there is no reason why this should not apply to India." (emphasis added)

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