US must help India join nuke control groups: Panel

An Indo-US working group comprising leading nuclear non-proliferation and foreign policy experts has urged both Washington and New Delhi to agree in principle to bring India into the export control groups that are part of the non-proliferation system.

The group, under the aegis of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and the Nuclear Threat Initiative, said in a statement released in Washington, "In 2008, India and the United States, with the concurrence of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, completed a path-breaking agreement that made possible civilian nuclear commerce with India. This agreement was intended to put India's civilian nuclear facilities under safeguards and end India's nuclear isolation. It was also aimed to bring about more complete Indian participation in the non-proliferation system."

It pointed out that 'the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement included significant changes in US law and policy that were possible only because of India's strong record of preventing its own nuclear materials from being illegally exported or otherwise used for proliferation."

Noting that 'India and the United States agree that it is vital to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and associated technology,' the group argued, 'both countries agree, in other words, on the importance of non-proliferation.'

"India's nuclear weapons prevent it from joining the Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-weapons state, and the language of the treaty precludes India's adhering as a weapons state. In light of the frictions generated by India's anomalous status, the working group believes it is more useful to focus on other institutions and mechanisms that can help strengthen the international non-proliferation system," the statement said.

The working group urged the Indian and US governments to give high priority to reaching agreement in principle on this issue in the context of US President Barack Obama's planned trip to India in November 2010.

Specifically, the group recommended that the two governments:

1. Agree in principle to bring India into the four non-proliferation export control groups (the Nuclear Suppliers' Group; the Missile Technology Control Regime; the Wassenaar Arrangement, which addresses armaments trade; and the Australia Group, which deals with chemical weapons).
2. Begin working together to harmonise India's export control regime with those of the Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement. Harmonisation with the MTCR and NSG export control guidelines was already accomplished in the context of the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement.
3. Initiate consultations with the other members of the export control groups to make possible India's swift accession.
4. Start addressing the obstacles to India's membership in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI).

It said, "A policy that followed these recommendations would have clear benefits for both countries and for the world. For India, membership in these institutions would acknowledge India's essential role in preventing proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. It would fulfil the promise implicit in the US-India nuclear agreement of treating India as a responsible state with advanced nuclear technology."

The working group also predicted that "it would bring India into the process of creating export control standards for the future, a particularly important point in light of India's rapidly growing economy and expanding footprint in international trade in sophisticated technology."

"For the United States, this policy would strengthen the global non-proliferation system that has been a high priority for administrations of both US political parties for several decades. It would strengthen the export control systems of a potentially significant supplier of sensitive items, and ensure that there are no hurdles in India's implementing future changes to export control regimes. Indian membership would bring its major nautical presence into the PSI. This would be especially important in the critical sea-lanes of communication in and near the Indian Ocean. These actions would also strengthen the US partnership with India."