Pakistan to get 2 nuclear reactors from China

[PracticalGuy]

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration has decided to object to a Sino-Pak civilian nuclear deal for establishing two atomic reactors in Pakistan, as it comes before the Nuclear Suppliers Group next week.

Experts have said that the deal appears to be violating international guidelines forbidding nuclear exports to countries that have not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or do not have international safeguards on reactors.

The Sino-Pak nuclear deal is expected to come up before the 46-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) meeting next week in New Zealand, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

State department spokesman Gordon DuGuid said the US government "has reiterated to the Chinese government that the United States expects Beijing to cooperate with Pakistan in ways consistent with Chinese nonproliferation obligations".

In a recent article, a prominent American nuclear expert believes this would breach international protocol about the trade of nuclear equipment and material.

"The move would breach international protocol about the trade of nuclear equipment and material," Mark Hibbs said in the latest issue of the prestigious Foreign Policy magazine.

The China National Nuclear Corporation is financing for two new reactors at Chashma in Pakistan's Punjab province.

The Post said China has suggested the sale is grandfathered from the time before it joined the NSG in 2004, because it was completing work on two earlier reactors for Pakistan at the time.

However, US officials said any such proposal would require a consensus approval by the NSG.

"Additional nuclear cooperation with Pakistan beyond those specific projects that were grandfathered in 2004 would require consensus approval" by the NSG, a US official was quoted as saying, and added that this the US believes "is extremely unlikely".

Interestingly, China had initially objected to the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, saying it would undermine the global non-proliferation regime. Beijing finally came around to support the agreement in the NSG, apparently under US pressure.

The Indo-US nuclear agreement was signed in 2009 after a long-drawn process, including a crucial NSG waiver, and passage through both the Indian and American legislatures.


US to object to China-Pakistan nuclear deal - Pakistan - World - The Times of India

 

[Jazzbot]

Experts have said that the deal appears to be violating international guidelines forbidding nuclear exports to countries that have not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or do not have international safeguards on reactors.

and since when India signed NPT..?

 

[M8R]

This deal will go through just fine.Don't worry.Pakistan and China both have plenty of leverage on US right now.

 

[nomi007]

why our corrupt leaders are not asking to America that why they are transferring nuke technology to India

 

[Aslan]

And what about the US deal with india that is all good aint it.

The US and india just needs to

 

[MZUBAIR]

lolz hahahahah....................................Who cares ....Its American policy..............do they think that they will be listened.

First, Pakistan is not the member of NSG while China is the member and they know how to answer Americans. The issue is not that Pakistan is getting Nuclear support ....................The issue is China is supplyng Nuclear support to some non NSG member without the aggrement of NSG members.

 

[ice_man]

TALK ABOUT DOUBLE STANDARDS & two faced approach!! but hey ofcourse indians would TOTALLY AGREE so would the ISRAELIS and all other countries who are the REAL "friends of the USA"


however, i really wish if the US opposes this deal our GOVERNMENT SHOULD GO ON RECORD & SAY WELL THEN PAKISTAN WILL SUSPEND ALL NATO SUPPLIES THROUGH PAKISTAN! as well as any "intelligence" sharing with US!


i wish for a day when our government would hit back verbally!!

why are indians on this forum posting this news everywhere???

and secondly this will be an amazing move by the USA!!

it will piss off turkey brazil & CHINA!! as all of them have a deal with iran & pakistan respectively!!!

USA is going overboard this time in bullying countries!! this will be fun to watch! all we need is a government with a spine!

 

[MZUBAIR]

Wrong thread in wrond section.........

Another thread is going on.............MODS plz merge with it

US-object-china-pakistan-nuclear-deal

---------- Post added at 08:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:21 AM ----------



---------- Post added at 08:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:22 AM ----------

lolz hahahahah....................................Who cares ....Its American policy..............do they think that they will be listened.

First, Pakistan is not the member of NSG while China is the member and they know how to answer Americans. The issue is not that Pakistan is getting Nuclear support ....................The issue is China is supplyng Nuclear support to some non NSG member without the aggrement of NSG members.

 

[mughaljee]

Our Friend USA another friendly fire.

 

[Marxist]

and since when India signed NPT..?

India got NSG waiver (exemption to a country which has not signed the NPT) for Indo-US deal.I am not sure that Pakistan will get a similar exemption.

 

[RescueRanger]

^

Im not loosing any sleep over this, it will go through just fine. At the moment the US has no choice but to keep its cards close to its chest. Sure they may rant and rave in public to appease the masses (and certain external elements) but internally its all "business as usual".

Even the recent meeting between Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar and the US envoy proved very fruitful.

 

[GUNNER]

China says Pakistan nuclear deal 'peaceful'

BBC Report

China has said its civilian nuclear co-operation with Pakistan is peaceful.

A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry said its plan to provide Pakistan with two new reactors was in line with international obligations.

Earlier this week, the United States expressed concern at the deal.
Fears over Pakistan's nuclear activities rose in 2004 after a top scientist admitted leaking nuclear technology to North Korea, Libya and Iran.

Relations between Pakistan and its neighbour India are also of continuing concern. Both are nuclear-armed.

'Supervision'

China's foreign ministry spokesman said: "I want to stress that the civilian nuclear co-operation between China and Pakistan is in line with each side's international obligations.

"It is for peaceful purposes, and is under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency," he told a news briefing in Beijing.

On Tuesday the US state department said it had asked China to clarify the details of its sale of additional nuclear reactors to Pakistan.
"This appears to extend beyond co-operation that was grandfathered when China was approved for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group," it said.

The 46-nation group regulates trade in "dual-use" nuclear fuel and technology to ensure material meant for civilian energy use is not diverted into clandestine nuclear weapons programmes.

The United States is a key ally of Pakistan. It has its own civilian nuclear co-operation accord with Pakistan's rival, India.
Pakistan would like a similar deal with the US, reports say, but continued fears over its proliferation record remain a major stumbling block.

In May 2009 Pakistan denied it was expanding its nuclear arsenal after the US said it had unearthed new evidence that it had done so.
Pakistan built its first nuclear power station in 1972 in Karachi with the help of Canadian experts.

But Western countries, lobbied by the US, later halted co-operation amid fears that Pakistan was secretly developing nuclear weapons.
Pakistan currently has three nuclear reactors, one for military use. The two to be built by China will take its number of civilian reactors to four, the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Karachi says.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Pakistan Outlines Nuclear Energy Goal, Cooperation With China​

June 17, 2010

A Pakistani Foreign Ministry official says his country hopes to generate substantial amounts of electricity from nuclear energy by 2030 based on existing cooperation with China, RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal reports.

Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told Radio Mashaal that any nuclear activities will be in line with international law and would be only for peaceful purposes.

"This cooperation between Pakistan and China is not new," he said. "And this deal is absolutely according to the IAEA's rules and safeguards."

According to the World Nuclear Association, nuclear power is only a small part of total energy production in Pakistan, supplying 2.34 percent of the country's electricity.

Yet Basit was optimistic about the growth in Pakistan's nuclear energy sector.

"We have [already] been producing nuclear energy with the support of China. Our target is to have 8,800 megawatts of electricity from nuclear energy by 2030," he said. "We need this for our economic development."

The 8,800-megawatt goal comes as Pakistan faces a severe power crisis. The BBC, citing Pakistani government sources, says Pakistan currently faces an energy shortfall of 3,668 megawatts.

Pakistan has for several years sought a deal from the United States to provide nuclear technology for civilian energy production. The United States concluded such a deal with Pakistan's arch-rival, India, in 2006.

But Pakistan found China as an alternative. China has long been an important economic and military partner of Pakistan.

Despite Pakistan's attempts to reassure officials in Washington, the United States remains concerned by Pakistan's nuclear cooperation with China.

Pakistan Outlines Nuclear Energy Goal, Cooperation With China - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty 2010

 

[amit26uk]

China dont play by the rules but USA is not in a position to dictate policy to the chinese so the deal will go ahead 100%

 

[Chaluboy]

If the deal goes ahead bypassing nsg then it will be open season for everyone else, after all russia france etc also want to make money by selling their reactors etc.