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Saturday, July 24, 2010
US to oppose Chinese nuclear reactor sale to PakistanLAHORE: The Obama administration’s point man for countering arms proliferation said on Thursday that the administration would vote against China’s sale of nuclear reactors to Pakistan in the international Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), The Washington Times reported.
The announcement follows the visit of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to Pakistan, where she said the US would be willing, over time, to discuss the prospects of Pak-US nuclear cooperation.
Pakistan, India and Israel are the only three countries that have never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a pact that promises nuclear cooperation in exchange for a pledge to forgo nuclear weapons. All three of those states have nuclear weapons.
During a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Vann H Van Diepen, the acting assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, said the US would vote against any exemption for China to sell two civil nuclear reactors to Pakistan.
In response to a question from Rep Ed Royce, a California Republican, asking whether the US would vote against the exemption for China, Van Diepen said, “Yes sir, by definition, we do not support any activity that goes against the guidelines.”
The 46-nation NSG is an international forum designed to limit sales of nuclear technology. Earlier, Van Diepen said, “Based on the facts we are aware of, it would occur to us that this sale would not be allowed to occur without an exemption of the NSG.” daily times monitor
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk