Prime Minister sets terms for CTBT

WASHINGTON, Sept 23 (PTI) — India today made it clear that it would sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) after its need for a minimum nuclear deterrence is recognised and hurdles in dual-use technology removed even as the fifth round of Indo-US talks ended here without making any apparent progress on nuclear and disarmament issues.

India will sign the CTBT as a nuclear weapons power only after its conditions were fulfilled. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee told reporters on board his special aircraft en route to New York to attend the UN General Assembly session.

"We will adhere to the treaty as a nuclear weapon state if other conditions are met," he said.

Officials explained that New Delhi is primarily pressing nuclear powers to recognise its need for a minimum nuclear deterrence and remove all hurdles in dual-use technology for it to formally adhere to the treaty.

Mr Vajpayee’s remarks came as his special emissary Jaswant Singh held another round of talks with US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott to narrow down differences on the nuclear issue and agreed to meet in November at a mutually convenient venue.

India’s announcement that it will not undertake further nuclear tests is enough to show that it has abided by basic conditions for adhering to the CTBT, Mr Vajpayee said, but some questions "still which have to be resolved."

Mr Singh reportedly told Mr Talbott that he disapproved of "artificial deadlines’’ the USA has been trying to set for New Delhi to sign the CTBT by linking President Clinton’s India visit to progress on the issue.

The tactics of the non-proliferation lobby to establish such a link only caused needless frustration, Mr Singh said at a meeting with several Indian- Americans, who met him after his talks with Mr Talbott.

India will sign the CTBT when it was convinced that it was in its security interest, not because President Clinton would or not visit India, sources quoted him as saying.

Mr Singh, also had separate informal meetings with some Senators, including powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms, who assured him of all help in lifting US sanctions on India and putting Indo-US ties back on track.

Mr Vajpayee will have a luncheon meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the 53rd session of the UN General Assembly to discuss modalities for resumption of bilateral talks on all outstanding issues between the two neighbours.

He will address the UN General Assembly tomorrow and is expected to press India’s demand for a permanent seat in an expanded UN Security Council.

A series of bilateral meetings have been scheduled for Mr Vajpayee with leaders from Russia, France, Columbia, Turkey, Honduras, Portugal, Mauritius, Malaysia, Austria, Egypt and Zimbabwe.

Mr Vajpayee told reporters that India and Pakistan had finalised modalities for the resumption of the stalled bilateral dialogue on all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir.

He also expressed the hope that the talks would yield meaningful results and said both sides would give instructions to their officials to have comprehensive discussions on all issues.

No signing of CTBT in present form: Fernandes
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Sept 23 — Defence Minister George Fernandes said here today that the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) could not be signed in its present discriminatory form as it was much more than a mere collection of adequate data for future reference and use.

Speaking to reporters informally after giving away the national awards for excellence in indigenisation of Defence stores for 1996-97, the Defence Minister while denying that he and his Scientific Adviser had differences on the issue said there were a "whole lot" of other issues involved and these were being discussed between the Indian and U S interlocutors.

Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had on Monday ruled out any roll-back of India’s status as a nuclear weapon state and said the signing the CTBT at this juncture would not create difficulties for its nuclear status. He said he and the Atomic Energy Commission Chairman, Dr R. Chidambaram, had reviewed and discussed the post Pokhran-II nuclear tests status in detail and from the scientific and technical angles they felt no further nuclear tests were necessary.

"He (Dr Kalam) spoke for the scientists but there are a whole lot of other things as well," Mr Fernandes remarked.

On setting up a new Far-Eastern Naval Command at the Andamans, the Defence Minister said his ministry had cleared the proposal but the Cabinet’s nod was yet to be obtained.

Mr Fernandes also said that the government would go allout to promote indigenisation in the armed forces.

Indigenisation would be given top priority as far as the armed forces were concerned because currently about Rs 5,000 crore had to be shelled out annually for various purchases for the security forces, Mr Fernandes said.

The minister said it was a pity that while the imports for the security forces on various counts accounted for a whopping Rs 5,000 crore, "our exports were only to the tune of Rs 150 crore".

He criticised the tendency to identify "foreign" with quality and said CAG’s reports were revealing in the sense that they established that even "made in India" was sometimes better then "foreign".

The Army Chief, Gen V.P. Malik, Defence Secretary Ajit Kumar, Defence Production and Supplies Secretary Prabit Sengupta and Dr Kalam were present.

The awards had been instituted by the Department of Defence Production and Supplies in 1993 for recognising the efforts of the Indian industry in meeting defence requirements which were being met through imports and to motivate them to undertake the indigenisation of more items involving higher technology.