New Delhi, July 18: Cap, roll-back, eliminate – Washington’s nuclear mantra to India for many decades is a distant memory.
But is Hillary Clinton readying to spell out the mantra again? The signs are all there.
President Obama wants India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). There are indications Washington wants India to accept certain obligations on non proliferation.
Washington recently got the G8 to ban the transfer of enrichment and reprocessing technology to non-NPT countries like India.
“Obama administration is – as other G8 members as you referenced in the agreement that they put out – very concerned about the proliferation,” Clinton told CNN-IBN in an interview.
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India may be willing to sign the CTBT provided it is ratified by the US and Indian nuclear scientists are okay with it.
But skeptics warn that India needs to tread carefully. There’s also concern the US is seeking to go back on a promise made to India in 2005.
“The premise of that agreement was that India was in a different category and was not to be lugged with North Korea or Iran as far as the kind of restrictions that you want to place on these countries is concerned. So 2005 and the 2008 were premised on India being on the third category. And its not clear to whether Hillary understands or appreciates that. The G8 statement is a reflection of this undifferentiated approach,” says Siddharth Varadarajan of The Hindu.
But others believe too much is being read into Washington’s formulations on nuclear issues.
“You can’t doubt the intention. They want non-proliferation so that technology doesn’t get into wrong hands,” says ex-envoy to US, Lalit Mansingh.
Democrats have been known to be hawkish on proliferation. So India expects some pressure; just how much will be clear when Clinton spells out her positions on these issues.
–Agencies