By IANS
New Delhi : Expressing concern over nuclear technology being “clandestinely and flagrantly” proliferated “in our region”, India Tuesday called for proper implementation of laws to prevent leakage of material and technology from established nuclear programmes.
“It is well known how transfer of uranium enrichment technology, equipment and even weapon design has taken place clandestinely and flagrantly in our region,” External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.
“Even more alarming is the interest shown by radical terrorist groups in acquiring nuclear material and technology and the linkages that they had forged with a few nuclear scientists,” he added while speaking at the inaugural session of the three-day Asian Security Conference.
Mukherjee’s statement was a clear reference to scientist Abdul Qader Khan who mentored Pakistan’s nuclear programme and who has confessed to clandestinely proliferating the country’s nuclear secrets abroad. Khan is currently under house arrest in Pakistan.
“On the supply side,” Mukherjee said, “the proliferation problem is a product of two factors. One is the inability of states to sufficiently safeguard their nuclear material, technology and facilities against attempts to procure WMD-relevant items.
“The second factor is deliberate and callous proliferation by states including state failure to exercise adequate control over personnel engaged in nuclear programmes,” he added.
Thus, the minister said, “the challenge before us is to make sure that national laws and international commitments are better implemented by states to prevent leakage of material and technology from established nuclear programmes.
“The challenge also is to do this consistently and without short-term considerations of political expediency, he added.
In this context, Mukherjee pointed out that even though India had not signed the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty), “in all these years, we have strictly abided by all the basic obligations enshrined (in it) as they apply to nuclear weapon states.
“Today, as a responsible nuclear weapon power, we are even more mindful of our duty to control the spread of WMD technologies and their delivery systems,” he said, adding: “We have signalled our willingness to be a part of the international consensus by adopting a comprehensive WMD export control legislation.
“We have also harmonised our export control lists with those prescribed by the Nuclear Suppliers Group and Missile Technology Control Regime,” the minister said, pointing out that these measures also fulfil the obligations prescribed by UN Security Council Resolution 1540 that calls upon states to refrain from supporting non-state actors in their quest for weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.
Addressing the conference, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said that with 187 of the world’s 343 non-state armed groups operating in Asia, the countries of the region as also the global community must unite to find ways and means to cooperate in the war against terror.
“Out of the 343 non-state armed groups operating in the world, 187 groups operate in the Asian region…Nations must devise ways and means to cooperate to effectively counter terrorism,” he said
“The world today realises that no nation can consider itself to be immune from terrorism. The lessons learnt elsewhere can prove to be useful in devising our policies. Similarly, other nations too can benefit from our experiences,” the minister maintained.
According to Antony, the emergence of non-state players was a “grave challenge” confronting all nations.
“These non-state players do not recognise any territorial boundaries. They utilise latest global communication and transport networks and rely on garnering international support. Their common objective is to disturb existing state apparatus, destabilise neighbouring states and create new states based on ethno-cultural identity,” the minister said.
Antony also suggested a three-pronged strategy to meet “various challenges effectively”.
“The first one is to maintain an active dialogue process, not only among governments, but also defence establishments to build strong channels of communication and dispel mistrust.
“Secondly, we must develop mechanisms to share intelligence about terror groups, criminal elements, drug cartels and other transnational networks that foment violence and subvert states.
“Thirdly, we must attempt to devise common solutions to common challenges that threaten our collective security. We need to develop multilateral frameworks to promote dialogue and prepare strategies for cooperative action,” Antony said.