The Journal of South Asian Non-Proliferation

November, 2007

Editorial Staff
Maria Sultan, Editor-in-Chief
Bharath G, Research Analyst
       Nick Robson, Production Support

 

 

 

The Journal of South Asian Non-Proliferation is an online compendium of non-proliferation related publications.
It is a periodic compilation of news, official statements, and expert analyses related to South Asian non-proliferation issues.

 


 


 

Supporting worldwide understanding of South Asian non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament issues.

The Journal of South Asian Non-Proliferation
is a Product of the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (SASSI)

CONTENTS 

Special Features


New Round of Nuclear Tests, by Zafar Nawaz Jaspal

NUCLEAR RELATED ISSUES
China buys Russian nuclear power reactors
Delay in US-India Nuclear deal may avoid dangerous non-proliferation policies
Nuclear CBM talks held
No deadline for talks, says ElBaradei
India’s 5 out of 17 nuke power plants shut down for lack of fuel
India-Pakistan nuclear war would kill over billion people
Reading the vital signs of U.S.-India nuclear deal
US leaves nuclear deal timing to India

MISSILE RELATED ISSUES
China moon probe blasts off
India shuns missile defence system
India tests nuclear capable Agni-I missile
India and Pakistan missile race surges on
Indian missile passes ‘user trials’

SUMMARIES

SPECIAL FEATURES

 New Round of Nuclear Tests by Zafar Nawaz Jaspal (PDF document)

The recent nuclear debate in India generates an impression that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh‘s government might opt for testing a new generation of nuclear weapons in the near future, to quash his opponents’ resistance to Indo-US nuclear deal. On August 20, 2007 Pakistan also hinted that it would renounce its unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing if India were to resume nuclear trials.

 

NUCLEAR RELATED ISSUES

 China buys Russian nuclear power reactors, Contingency Today, October 11, 2007. On October 11, 2007, Contingency Today reported that Two 1,000-MW nuclear power reactors will be built under the second phase of the Tianwan nuclear power plant in Jiangsu Province. Russian company Atomstroyexport (ASE) - which supplied the two reactors for Phase I that started full operation in August. This was confirmed by a Chinese project official who did not want to be named, confirmed the project

Delay in US-India nuclear deal may avoid dangerous non-proliferation policies, Center for Arms Control and Non-proliferation, October 16, 2007.  The Center for Arms Control and Non-     proliferation reported that that the U.S.-India nuclear deal may be delayed, thereby avoiding further damage to nuclear non-proliferation efforts.The Center also urged the U.S. to improve its relationship with India through increased trade and cooperation not involving nuclear materials.

Nuclear CBM Talks Held, Jawed Naqvi, Dawn, October 20, 2007.  The author reports that India and Pakistan on Friday held another round of expert-level talks on nuclear and missiles-related confidence building measures (CBMs). He further added that The agenda included a review of existing agreements on nuclear CBMs as well as discussion on disarmament and non-proliferation-related issues of mutual interest in multilateral forums.

  No deadline for talks, says ElBaradei, Special Correspondent, The Hindu, October 11, 2007. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Mohammed ElBaradei said on his visit to India that there was no deadline for starting talks on an India-specific safeguards arrangement but pointed out that it was imperative for the country to utilise nuclear energy to sustain the current high growth rate.

      India’s 5 out of 17 nuke power plants shut down for lack of fuel, Islamic Republic News Agency, GlobalSecurity.Org, October 22, 2007. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has said that five of the 17 nuclear power plants in the country had been shut down and the remaining are operating at an average of less than 50 percent capacity for want of fuel.

 

      India-Pakistan Nuclear war would kill over billion people, FuturePandit, October 3, 2007. An Assessment of the Extent of Projected Global Famine Resulting from Limited, Regional Nuclear War" by Dr Ira Helfand, an emergency medicine specialist from Massachusetts, projects "a total global death toll in the range of one billion from starvation alone."

 Reading the vital signs of U.S.-India Nuclear Deal, Mike Nizza, October 16, 2007. On October 16, 2007, Mike Nizza  reported that a call between President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is prompting desperate diagnoses regarding the landmark nuclear agreement they’ve been working on. At the very least, it seemed clear that Mr. Singh was blinking in a standoff with his communists allies that could lead to early elections.

      US leaves nuclear deal timing to India,  The Economic Times, 10 October, 2007,  On 10th October 2007, the Economic Times reported that the The United States said it supports India in its efforts to complete the remaining steps to conclude their civil nuclear deal, but will leave the timing to New Delhi.. While India can move ahead with the agreement without parliamentary approval, the deal must go for a final approval to the US Congress that allowed Bush administration to negotiate an implementing 123 agreement under a controversial enabling law passed last December.

  

MISSILE & Space RELATED ISSUES

China moon probe blasts off, Jonathan Watts, Guardian Unlimited, October 24, 2007. On October 24, 2007, China launched its first lunar probe today in a display of the technological prowess and ambition that constitute an increasing challenge to the United States. The state-run CCTV station broadcast images of the Change (pronounced Chang-er) 1 blasting off on schedule from the Xichang space centre in southern Sichuan province into cloudy skies.

      India shuns missile defence system, Jawed Naqvi, Dawn, October 25, 2007.  In a significant change from recent policy Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday ruled out being part of the controversial US-led missile defence system, opposed by countries like Russia and China. India does not take part in such military arrangement. Therefore the question of our participation does not arise,” Mr Mukherjee was quoted by Pres Trust of India as saying during a joint press conference in Harbin, China, at the conclusion of the third stand-alone trilateral meeting of foreign ministers of India, China and Russia.

 

India tests nuclear-capable Agni-I missile, Pravda, October 5, 2007. On October 5, 2007, The Defense ministry of India said  that it has successfully tested a short-range version of its most powerful nuclear-capable missile. The Agni-I missile, which can travel up to 700 kilometers (435 miles), soared into the sky over the Bay of Bengal from Wheeler's Island off India's east coast The test was "successful and the desired objectives have been met," the defense ministry said in a statement.

   

India and Pakistan missile race surges on, Sharad Joshi, Centre for Nonproliferation Studies, October 2007. The author states that Recent missile developments in India and Pakistan indicate that a missile arms race is well under way in South Asia. This competition is exacerbated by India's need to address potential strategic adversaries on two fronts. Nonetheless, India's decision to refrain from building missiles able to strike targets at intercontinental distances is an important sign of restraint, which seems to reflect India's official doctrine of pursuing only a "credible minimum deterrent."  Pakistan's missile objectives are more straightforward, and demonstrate a continuing attempt to match India's missile improvements and, perhaps, to signal its unease with growing ties between New Delhi and Washington.

      Indian missile passes ‘user trials’, Jawed Naqvi, Dawn, October 6, 2007. India’s nuclear-capable Agni-I missile, which can strike deep inside Pakistan, passed a final “user trial” on Friday by specially-trained personnel who will handle it for the armed forces, the Press Trust of India said. It said it was for the first time that personnel from the country’snewly-raised Strategic Forces Command conducted the “user trial” of the 700-km-range ballistic missile from the Wheelers Island off the Orissa coast. 


South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (SASSI)

The South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (SASSI) is an independent think tank dedicated to promoting peace and stability in the South Asian region. SASSI contributes to the international debate on contemporary South Asian security issues through this and other substantive products.

Journal of South Asian Nonproliferation Issues

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