DISARMAMENT: UN Ponders Action on Indian Nuclear Tests

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

UNITED NATIONS, May 12 1998 (IPS) - The U.N. Security Council likely would approve of a non-binding statement criticising India’s nuclear tests this week, according to diplomats here.

Many nations on the 15-nation Council were quick to condemn the three nuclear blasts detonated Monday in the western Indian state of Rajasthan. China, India’s neighbour and a nuclear power, called the tests “a step backward” for the cause of disarmament, while Japan and Sweden said they would support a Council resolution urging a halt to India’s nuclear testing.

U.S. Ambassador Bill Richardson said that he expected Sweden would work on the language of a Council statement on India, which likely would be approved by the Council before the weekend. Until then, he said, Washington will talk with India and its neighbours – including its nemesis, Pakistan – to defuse tensions, including the possibility of further tests by India or Pakistan.

“The United States is gravely concerned about this test,” said Richardson, adding that the test explosions “caught us by surprise.” Now, he argued, the Council should press for restraint in the entire region. Four Asian nations – Russia, China, India and Pakistan – are believed to have nuclear weapons capability, but the latter two have never declared their nuclear status nor signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Ahmad Kamal, Pakistan’s U.N. ambassador, took the strongest exception to the Indian tests on Tuesday, calling India’s actions a direct threat to the world which demanded an international response. “The damage which has been done, has been done to the U.N. system … in failing to prevent irresponsible and reckless actions” by the Indian government, Kamal argued.

“None of this has been a surprise to Pakistan,” the ambassador added, noting that Islamabad had written several governments following the election in March in India of a right- wing coalition led by the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), which had promised to add nuclear weapons to the nation’s arsenal.

In its letters, Kamal said, the Pakistani government warned of the nuclear threat posed by the BJP-led administration.

“Pakistan…is the country most affected” by the tests, Kamal said. “It cannot but take appropriate measures to ensure its security.” One U.N. official told IPS on Monday that the Pakistani government was likely to respond with a nuclear test of its own – and warned that, although such an action could be reckless, it may be politically inevitable.

China had been equally affected by the tests. Just days before the tests, Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes labelled Beijing as “enemy number one” and warned of the need to avoid “encirclement” by China and its allies.

Other countries in the region have also been drawn into the controversy sparked by the tests. Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Tuesday that Canberra had conveyed its condemnation is recalling our high commissioner from New Delhi for consultations.”

At the same time, Howard urged India’s neighbours “not to respond in ways which would further destabilise security in the region.”

In France on Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan added that “even though India has not signed the (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which bans test explosions), we would have hopes that India and other nations would live and respect the spirit of that convention.” He said he was disappointed at the prospect of increased militarisation in the region.