Radioactive reactions

On Monday Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured Parliament that the agreement between USA and India to operationalise the civilian nuclear deal would not affect India’s right to undertake future nuclear tests. He said, “Let me hence reiterate once again that a decision to undertake future nuclear test would be our sovereign decision, one that rests solely with the government.” On Tuesday, the US State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack is supposed to have said, “The proposed 123 agreement has provisions in it that in an event of a nuclear test by India, then all nuclear cooperation is terminated.” Supposed because the US State department site has no such quote from McCormack and all investigations so far by this analyst has failed to show up any person who has personal knowledge of any such quote or official statement from McCormack.

Even if McCormack did make such a statement, it would be plain to anyone who has read the Indo-US 123 agreement that McCormack is wrong, plain and simple, as there is nothing in that agreement that either mentions any “test” or any circumstance under which “all nuclear cooperation is terminated” automatically. Under Article 14(1) the agreement can be terminated only a year after a written notice to terminate the agreement is given by a party.

It is very likely that the story and the controversy built around it are a major element in the continuing disinformation campaign that has been mounted by the opponents of the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Nevertheless, the issue of India conducting a nuclear test and what happens after that is a matter that should be analysed in some detail.

What happens to nuclear transfers from US to India if India conducts a nuclear test? Under NPT, and US laws, India is a non-nuclear weapon state. According to Section 129 (a)(1)(A) of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA): “No nuclear materials and equipment or sensitive nuclear technology shall be exported to any non-nuclear-weapon state that is found by the President to have, at any time after the effective date of this section detonated a nuclear explosive device...”

But such a termination is not automatic. Such termination will not take place, according to Section 129(a) of the AEA, “if the President determines that cessation of such exports would be seriously prejudicial to the achievement of United States non-proliferation objectives or otherwise jeopardize the common defense and security”.

Article 14(2) of the India-UA agreement explicitly acknowledges this prerogative...

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Radioactive reactions

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