Chinese 'stonewalled' nuclear supply queries
By DAVID WILLIAMS - The Press
Last updated 05:00 29/06/2010
Christchurch
China has stonewalled questions on a deal to build nuclear reactors in Pakistan, arms-control experts say.
Christchurch last week hosted the annual meeting of the 46-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which was formed to prevent the proliferation of nuclear material and technology.
Arms-control and disarmament experts say the meeting's failure to take a strong position on two crucial issues means the group risks becoming irrelevant.
Sources at the meeting confirmed that questions were raised about the controversial Chinese deal, said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, a pro-disarmament pressure group.
"The Chinese essentially stonewalled this ... because they argued it was consistent with earlier agreements," he said from Berlin.
An agreed statement issued after the meeting did not mention the Pakistan-China deal or resolve a six-year wrangle over guidelines to restrict the sale of enrichment and reprocessing technology.
Kimball said the meeting's "unsurprising and disappointing" outcome raised questions about the group's relevance and credibility.
"The NSG has been very important over the decades in preventing the spread of sensitive nuclear technology,
but in recent years it has been crumbling from within because of decisions taken by major suppliers to ... ignore NSG guidelines, to make a profit on nuclear sales."
He named the "guilty parties" as Russia, China, the United States, Britain and France. "The NSG risks irrelevance if it does not stand up to the challenges it is faced with."
A spokesman for Christchurch's Disarmament and Security Centre, Robert Green, said the outcome "did not look very pretty".
"They (the powerful nuclear states) will do what they want and they don't care too much for the rules," he said.
"They're [the NSG] continuing to keep the lid on what is an extremely dangerous industry."
Attempts to reach the Chinese embassy for comment last night failed. The Chinese deal is thought to involve the building of two additional nuclear reactors in Pakistan.
The NSG statement, described as "bland" by Kimball, made no mention of it. It said participating governments exchanged information on nuclear non-proliferation developments and focused on regions of concern. It called on nations to "exercise vigilance" and reaffirmed adherence to the group's guidelines.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman David Courtney said New Zealand was "very pleased" with the outcome of the meeting.
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