Americans trying to limit India’s nuke arsenal through U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns’s visit to India from Thursday?
Balaji Reddy
Oct. 20, 2005

According to some media sources; Americans are pressuring India to put a limit on on its production of plutonium and other fissile materials as a means to prevent India from increasing its nuclear arms power.

The United States is pressing India to place an upper limit on its production of plutonium and other fissile materials as a means to prevent India from increasing its nuclear arms power, according to a senior U.S. administration official.

The two nations negotiated the proposed cap but failed to reach an agreement in the process of U.S. President George W. Bush formally announcing the nuclear energy cooperation after his talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Washington in July, the official recently told Kyodo News.

U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns will visit India from Thursday to pave the way for implementing the landmark nuclear deal, which is opposed by many U.S. lawmakers.

While the nuclear deal effectively endorsed India's nuclear weapons, its approval remains uncertain in the U.S. Congress, where many lawmakers have expressed concerns and want to cap the production of nuclear materials by India, which is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The official said there is a need to seek an upper limit through bilateral negotiations because it is unrealistic to pursue a multilateral pact that also includes India at a time when negotiations for a proposed fissile material cut-off treaty remain stalled since 1997 at the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament.

As for whether to press India to stop its production immediately or at a certain level, the official said, "This is something that's subject to negotiation."

Washington's nuclear cooperation with India also poses a problem over the guidelines set by a group of nuclear supplier nations for controlling international trade in nuclear technology.

But the official said the United States will not seek to modify or amend the guidelines, and will instead try to get the group's members to "treat it as an exceptional case."

The United States intends to seek an agreement by the 44-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group by next spring, the official said.

The NSG was established in 1974 following India's nuclear tests, with the objective of promoting nuclear nonproliferation to address the risk raised by the Indian tests over the misuse of nuclear technology and materials transferred for peaceful purposes.

Its members include Japan and five declared nuclear powers Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

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