NPT not weakened by N-tests: India

TOKYO, Nov 24 (PTI) — India today said that the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) had been undermined by its inherent inadequacies and that the South Asian nuclear tests had in no way weakened it.

"The South Asian tests did not undermine the NPT. Rather, it is the inadequacies of the NPT itself which undermined it," India’s permanent representative to the conference on disarmament, Geneva, Ms Savitri Kunadi, said at Nagasaki.

Ms Kunadi lashed out at the existing non-proliferation regime for failing to "address our security concerns" and accused the nuclear powers of turning a blind eye to the "clandestine or knowing proliferation of nuclear weapons, missiles, and technology."

India, she complained, was the victim of this illegal unchecked transfer of nuclear weapons technology and missiles.

"India’s security concerns could have been addressed by moving towards global nuclear disarmament, which is India’s preferred approach. This did not happen."

She reminded delegates that when the CTBT was pushed through, India had stood aside "so that its freedom of action would not be constrained." But it remained committed to the global elimination of nuclear weapons as a means of enhancing world security.

Defending India’s nuclear doctrine as one of minimum deterrence, she said, "We do not intend to repeat the mistakes of others.

"Further, India’s nuclear policy is characterised by civilian command and control. This addresses the point about preventing accidental or unauthorised launch of nuclear weapons."

Ms Kunadi also informed the conference that India had proposed that an existing Indo-Pakistani agreement on not attacking each other’s nuclear installations be extended to include populated areas and a bilateral no-first-use agreement.