US vows to vote against pact

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration said on Thursday that it will vote against China’s sale of nuclear reactors to Pakistan in the international Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), The Washington Times reported.

During a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Vann H Van Diepen, the acting assistant secretary of state for international security and non-proliferation, said the US will vote against granting China any exemption for it to sell two civil nuclear reactors to Pakistan.

In response to a question from asking whether the US would vote against the exemption for China, Diepen said: “Yes sir, by definition, we do not support any activity that goes against the guidelines.”

Earlier, 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.”

However, he added that while the US could vote against an exemption, it cannot stop China if it decides to sell Pakistan the reactors without special permission from the NSG.

The announcement follows US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Pakistan, during which she said the US will be willing to discuss the prospect of nuclear cooperation with Pakistan with time.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group is a group of nuclear supplier countries which seeks to contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons through the implementation of guidelines for nuclear exports and nuclear-related exports. The 46-nation NSG is a forum designed to limit sales of nuclear technology.

During a meeting of the NSG in June, China had sidestepped questions raised by the group members about its plan to sell Pakistan two additional reactors, and the US has asked Beijing for more information on the controversial deal.

At the time, State Department spokesman P J Crowley had confirmed that the US had reservations about the deal, and wanted a clarification on the issue.

India, which has finalised a civil-nuclear pact with the US, also objected to the China-Pakistan deal.

India, which along with Pakistan has not signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, had been given final approval for its deal with the US by the NSG on September 6, 2008.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th, 2010.