More Chinese nuclear reactors for Pakistan

[Neo]

U.S. to object to China-Pakistan nuclear reactor deal

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

NUCLEAR EXPORTS

U.S. will object to China-Pakistan deal

The Obama administration has decided to object to a lucrative deal in which state-owned Chinese companies would supply Pakistan with two nuclear reactors, U.S. officials said.

The deal is expected to be discussed next week at a meeting in New Zealand of the 46-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which monitors such transactions. Experts had said it appears to be a violation of international guidelines forbidding nuclear exports to countries that have not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or do not have international safeguards on reactors. Pakistan has not signed the treaty.

China has suggested that the sale is grandfathered from before it joined the NSG in 2004, because it was completing work on two earlier reactors for Pakistan at the time. But U.S. officials disagree.

"Additional nuclear cooperation with Pakistan beyond those specific projects that were grandfathered in 2004 would require consensus approval" by the NSG, a U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity, "which we believe is extremely unlikely."

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

washingtonpost.com

[Neo]

Defence ties, new N-reactors focus of Kayani's talks in China

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Beijing: The China-Pakistan defence ties and the problems being encountered by Beijing to build two new nuclear reactors to Islamabad are expected to dominate Pakistan Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani's talks here.

The nuclear issue was expected to take the centre stage in talks between Gen. Kayani and his interlocutors in the Peoples Liberation Army, (PLA), which shares strong ties with Pakistan Army by virtue of being a strategic ally and its main source of supply of weapons.

Gen. Kayani's five-day visit to China, which began today, coincides with the remarks by the US State Department spokesperson P J Crowley that Washington has sought a clarification from Beijing about its plans to sell two additional nuclear reactors to Pakistan.

Crowley said China should secure the approval of the 46-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) if it wants to go ahead with the controversial deal.

The top general's visit comes ahead of the next week?s NSG meeting in New Zealand where the issue is expected to come up in a big way.

China steadfastly remained silent after its reported agreement to build two 650 mw nuclear power plants was publicised last month.

The issue apparently was discussed in detail during the last month's strategic and economic dialogue between US and China headed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Analysts say that the deal could run into problems if China has not declared its plans to build the two nuclear plants when it joined the NSG.

Beijing has already built two nuclear plants at Chashma in Pakistan before it joined NSG.

The deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and increasing militant attacks within Pakistan is also expected to figure prominently during Kiyani?s talks with PLA Generals.

Defence ties, new N-reactors focus of Kayani`s talks in China

[Neo]

Pak-China N-cooperation under IAEA safeguards: FO

Spokesman rejects LSE report; says Pakistan ready to play role for Afghan peace

Friday, June 18, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Thursday said its civil nuclear cooperation with China is under the safeguards of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Commenting on the recent statements and apprehensions of the United States on the Pak-China nuclear cooperation, Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit, in his weekly briefing, said, “Pakistan’s civil nuclear cooperation is going on for years and it is under the IAEA safeguards only for peaceful purpose.”

He said China has also issued statement in this regard that the cooperation between Pakistan and China in the area of civilian use of nuclear energy is “totally for peaceful purpose”. The spokesman said China has also clarified that this cooperation between the two countries is in accordance with the respected international obligations.

Replying to a question, he said the United States has reimbursed most of its claims for 2008 and 2009 under Coalition Support Fund (CSF) and the remaining about 700 million dollars would be released in a few months.

He said there have been some delays in reimbursement of the claims but these do not warrant withdrawal of Pakistan’s forces from western border. The spokesman said Pakistan is fighting violent extremist not only in its own interest but also for the sake of regional and global peace and prosperity and that is why it needs international support for the purpose.

He hoped that future releases of the CSF would be on time so that there are no glitches in carrying out the fight against terrorism effectively. The spokesman rejected the report of London School of Economics (LSE) wherein Pakistan has been blamed for its links with Taliban.

He said the report does not meet the basic standards of research and is not worth attention of Pakistan. Replying to another question, he said Pakistan is supportive of Afghanistan-led process of reconciliation and reintegration in that country and wanted the process to be genuine.

He hoped that the international community would give due consideration to the recommendations evolved by the Peace Jirga in Kabul held early this month. He said, “Pakistan is fully prepared to play its role for peace and reconciliation because peace and stability in Afghanistan is in our long-term interest.”

Regarding sectoral meetings being held between Pakistan and the US under the framework of Strategic Dialogue, he said these meetings are proceeding well. He said working groups on Defence; Science and Technology, Agriculture; Energy; Finance; Water and Market Access have already met while meeting of the working groups on Law enforcement and Counter Terrorism; Women Empowerment, Health and Education as well as that on Communication and Public Diplomacy would be held later this month.

The spokesman said, “These are not meetings for the sake of meetings as the United States has declared that it wants to make a difference and specific projects are being discussed.”He said in energy sector alone upto 30 projects have been identified. He said the Asian Development Bank too is preparing a National Energy Plan for Pakistan which would be released soon.

The spokesman said the representatives of Pakistan and the US would meet next month to take stock of these sectoral meetings and the visit of the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Pakistan would cap this round of strategic dialogue.

Replying to a question, Basit said Pakistan is looking forward to meeting between the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India on 15th of next month with a view to promoting peace and prosperity in the region.

He said, “It is approaching this engagement with positive mindset hoping that it would lead to results that are in our mutual interests.” The spokesman hoped that this engagement would be purposeful and should address all the areas so that the two countries can bridge the trust deficit.

He said an inter-ministerial meeting was held on Wednesday with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the chair to prepare recommendations for the upcoming Pakistan-India talks. These would be submitted to the prime minister for approval, he added.

Replying to a question about repatriation of Pakistanis from Kyrgyzstan, the spokesman said Pakistani nationals living in Osh and surrounding areas of Kyrgyzstan have been evacuated and one or two nationals were still in Osh and living their own will.

He said there are 804 Pakistani nationals in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek and surrounding areas but there is no plan for their evacuation as life is normal there. He said if any Pakistani national can leave Bishkek he can do so on his own.

He said regular flights are also being operated from Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, therefore, if any Pakistani wants to come back, he can manage it easily. He said, in the present circumstances, there is no need to start repatriation from Bishkek.

The spokesman confirmed that a US national was arrested from Chitral recently and interrogations are underway.He also confirmed arrests of some Pakistanis in Yemen but added that details are being awaited.

Replying to another question about the death of Pakistani Syed Muhammad Shah in Dubai, the spokesman said the Foreign Office is in touch the its missions in Dubai and Sharjah on the issue and making necessary arrangements to help his family to bring back his body.

Pak-China N-cooperation under IAEA safeguards: FO

[Neo]

Pak nuclear plants for peaceful use: China

BEIJING: China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said has that the civilian nuclear cooperation between Pakistan and China is for peaceful purposes, and is in line with each side’s international obligations. Addressing a news briefing, he said the nuclear deal was for peaceful purposes and was under the IAEA supervision. He said that China enjoys excellent relations with Pakistan and was ready to cooperate with its friend. agencies

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

[Neo]

China defends nuclear cooperation as 'peaceful'

BEIJING (June 18 2010): China on Thursday defended its nuclear co-operation with Pakistan as peaceful after the United States announced it had sought clarification from Beijing on the sale of two reactors to Islamabad. "China and Pakistan have maintained co-operation in recent years in the civilian use of nuclear energy," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters when asked about the US reaction to the deal.

"This co-operation is in line with our respective international obligations and totally for peaceful purposes, and has International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards and supervision." The state-run China National Nuclear Corporation has agreed to finance two civilian nuclear reactors in Punjab province, despite fears abroad about the safety of atomic material.

The deal comes after China in 2004 entered the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a group of nuclear energy states that forbids exports to nations lacking strict International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani who is currently on official visit to China held meeting with Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie here Thursday in which both sides pledged to strengthen defence ties.

General Kayani speaking on the occasion said Pakistan values its defence and security co-operation with China, noting that the two countries have co-operated fruitfully in national defence industries in recent years, reports Xinhua news agency. Pakistan, General Kayani said would further strengthen exchange and co-operation with China.

"Cooperation between the Chinese and Pakistani armed forces is exemplary and has been fruitful," the Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guangli, also a state councillor, said during the meeting held at the Diaoyutai State Guest House. Liang said the two sides should make continuous efforts to conduct their co-operation programmes well. He said China would join hands with Pakistan to bring military relations to a new high.

Later, General Kayani met Chinese State Councillor and Minister for Public Security Meng Jianzhu, top Chinese legislator Wu Bangguo, and Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission Guo Boxiong. Pakistan Ambassador to China Masood Khan also attended these meetings.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

[Neo]

'Retention of nuclear capability Pakistan's compulsion'

ISLAMABAD (June 18 2010): Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), General Tariq Majid on Thursday said the world must realise the daunting internal and external challenge that Pakistan faces, are largely intertwined and it is in vortex not by choice, but because of regional and international circumstances which in many ways are beyond its control.

Addressing the convocation at National Defence University (NDU), he said "Our future counter insurgency actions have to keep in perspective the larger strategic picture, especially the unfolding of events in Afghanistan and sustainability of domestic support for our counter insurgency strategy in an environment of possibly increased reactive violence and a fragile economy."

"We have to be mindful of the blatant pursuit of military preponderance in our neighbourhood. Growing power imbalance due to continuing build up of massive military machine, including both hi tech conventional and nuclear forces, adoption of dangerous cold start doctrine and proactive strategy, more assertive posturing especially after very exceptional civil nuclear deal and notions of two front war are all destabilising trends, carrying implications for Pakistan's security," he added.

Therefore, retention of essential nuclear capability to maintain credible minimum deterrence against any possible aggression is our compulsion and not a matter of choice. He further said, as a responsible nuclear weapon state and despite being a non NPT country, Pakistan has always supported the non proliferation efforts, and our position on disarmament issues has remained consistent and pragmatic. We, however, demand our rightful place as a nuclear weapon state and reject discriminatory policies. While speaking about Fissile Material Treaty ( FMT ) discussions, he said that FMT is only Pakistan specific which is unacceptable to us.

Countries of the world need to be sensitive to our security concerns rather than attempting in vain to browbeat us or riding roughshod over our concerns. General Tariq also expressed his views on recurring concern on safety and security of Pakistan 's nuclear weapons and materials and said that nuclear security within a state is a national responsibility that we are shouldering with utmost vigilance and assurance.

"We have put in place a very robust regime that includes multilayered mechanisms and processes to secure our strategic assets, and have provided maximum transparency on our practices. We have reassured the international community on this issue over and over again and our track record since the time our nuclear program was made overt has been unblemished. We therefore, consider security to be a non-issue, and strongly suggest that it is time to move beyond this issue. The world must accept our nuclear reality, and stop unwarranted insinuations to create alarms and deny us the related benefits."

While addressing the graduates General Tariq said that as future leaders and policy makers they have an obligation to carry with them the lessons learnt at National Defence University and act in supreme national interest without fear or favour.

He said that in today's world the standing of a country is measured by its political and economic strengths, the state of development of its human resource, and the management skills of the senior leadership. The need of the moment is to promote a culture of tolerance, stabilise the democratic dispensation with an effective governance system, and develop a viable economic order by making optimum utilisation of all our national resources.

Congratulating the graduates comprising armed forces officers, civil bureaucrats of Pakistan and senior officers from friendly countries on successful completion of the course, General Tariq expressed hope that the enhanced knowledge, competence, capacity for analysis and decision making would make them an asset for their nation. Earlier on arrival at NDU, Chairman JCSC was received by Lieutenant General Muhammad Yousuf, President NDU.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

[Interceptor]

India Wary of Sino-Pak Ties

By Jason Miks

June 17, 2010

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates may not be able to get an invitation to Beijing, but Pakistan Army chief yesterday began a five-day visit to China after receiving a special invitation from the People’s Liberation Army.

Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is expected to discuss defence ties between the two as well as the question of China’s proposed sale of two nuclear reactors to Pakistan. The visit comes just as the US State Department says it is seeking clarification from Beijing over the supposed sale, which the United States believes should have the backing of the 46-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group before moving forward.

According to Reuters, US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley told reporters in Washington yesterday:

‘This appears to extend beyond cooperation that was grandfathered when China was approved for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.’

Kayani’s visit comes at a time of deepening defence ties between China and Pakistan and follows a visit last month by a defence delegation from China headed by Minister for National Defence Gen. Liang Guangile. The two nations also signed bilateral defence pacts, with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari saying during the visit: ‘Strengthening and enhancing cooperation with China in all fields is one of the key principles guiding Pakistan’s foreign policy.’

Under the pacts, the services of the two countries agreed to conduct joint military exercises, while China—Pakistan’s biggest supplier of arms— also pledged to provide four trainer aircraft for the Pakistani Airforce and almost $9 million for various armed forces training programmes.

Already in the works is the JF-17 Thunder fighter jet, being developed as part of a joint venture between the two, while Pakistan has already taken delivery of two of four F-22 P, or Zulfiquar class, frigates that Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said last month have helped enhance his country’s ability to safeguard its waters.

None of this will have amused policymakers in Delhi, many of whom are already wary over Sino-Pakistan ties, with some Indian analysts suggesting Beijing’s support for Pakistan is a deliberate effort at trying to help pin Indian attention down in areas like Kashmir. Indeed, for some the reasoning goes that China is keen to keep India’s attention on its own backyard, so it doesn’t develop more outward looking, great power ambitions.

I asked UNESCO Peace Chair Madhav Nalapat, who recently returned from Beijing, for his take on what these recent developments mean for Sino-Indian ties. He told me:

‘The difference between India and Pakistan is that China makes tens of billions of dollars from India each year, but then loses tens of billions of dollars cossetting Pakistan. Over time, this has to make an impact, despite the fact that the PLA is still wedded to the strategy of using the Pakistan army as a lever to constrain India.’

Nalapat added that in his view, the Pakistani army has lost much of its functionality and value against both the terrorist threat and also India, a reality that he says should mean Chinese policymakers eventually will shift their approach to India.’

But he added: ‘Of course, if two more nuclear reactors are built in Pakistan, all bets are off.’

India Wary of Sino-Pak Ties | China Power

[Interceptor]

Nuclear powers set for Pakistan showdown

By Jonathan Marcus

Sunday, 20 June 2010

A row is looming between Beijing and Washington over China's proposed sale of two nuclear power-generating reactors to Pakistan.

This would appear to break the guidelines set by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a gathering of countries who export civil nuclear technology.

The NSG's annual meeting is taking place in Christchurch, New Zealand all this week and it provides the first opportunity for other governments to explore what exactly China is proposing.

"During recent weeks Beijing has come under growing pressure," says the veteran nuclear expert Mark Hibbs, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"And what I expect to happen is that the Chinese will make some kind of statement to clarify their intentions."

Mr Hibbs does not expect any fireworks yet, not least because there is no agreement within the NSG over how to proceed.

But the diplomatic battle lines are already being drawn with many countries eager to avoid the bruising exchanges of just a few years ago when, in 2008, the US - backed by a number of other major powers - pushed through a special exemption at the NSG allowing it to sell civil nuclear technology to India.

This exemption - despite the fact that India has never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has an active nuclear weapons programme - was strongly condemned by many arms control advocates.

It has already prompted charges of double-standards.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for one, has claimed that his country is being denied nuclear technology even though it has no nuclear weapons, while a special deal was cut for a friend of Washington - India - which already had the bomb.

Mark Fitzpatrick, the chief proliferation expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, said he remained of the view that the US-India deal set "a dangerous precedent.

"It strengthened the sense of double standards," he argues.

Even Mark Hibbs, who believes that the US-India deal had "a deep strategic rationale" says "the problem was the way in which Washington set about it."

The administration of former President George W Bush, he argues, simply "ignored the proliferation concerns". Washington should have been much tougher in extracting concessions from India, Mr Hibbs says.
Beijing's choice

Now the India exemption hangs like a shadow over the deliberations of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. It cannot come to any view until China makes its hand known.

So what will Beijing do? Mark Hibbs believes that China really has three options.

* Follow the US-India example and seek a special exemption for the Pakistan sale.

* Try to claim that the two additional reactors were in some way part of an original deal under which it has already supplied two reactors to Pakistan. This was in the works before China joined the NSG in 2004.
* Simply ignore the guidelines and go ahead with the sale anyway.

Seeking an exemption, which appears to be the route that the Obama administration wants China to pursue, could throw the whole organisation into chaos.

Seeking so-called "grandfather rights" to include the new deal in the previous contract might be preferable. But, inconveniently, Mark Hibbs believes that there is a paper trail suggesting that China had no intention to make further reactor sales to Pakistan when it originally joined the NSG.

Ignoring the guidelines altogether would set a dangerous precedent.

China plans to become a big player in the civil nuclear industry. It has a huge domestic nuclear power programme and it has ambitious plans for major sales abroad.

China's whole emergence onto the world stage has been conditioned by a desire to play by the established international rules. Overturning the NSG guidelines would undermine the whole cause of nuclear non-proliferation.
Geopolitical implications

A crucial element will be how the Obama administration chooses to play this issue.

"Up to a few days ago I thought that the US and China had cut a deal to allow Beijing to go ahead. But now the US is raising questions", Mark Fitzgerald says.

Some analysts wonder if the US, like many members of the NSG, might simply prefer the whole issue to go away. But that clearly isn't going to happen.

There could well be strong pressure from Capitol Hill for President Obama to oppose any sale of reactors to Pakistan.

The country - like India - has never signed the NPT. It too has a small nuclear arsenal. And, more worryingly, proliferation experts say it has a terrible record of selling nuclear technology and knowhow to third countries.

A further complication lies ahead.

If both India and Pakistan were to gain exemptions, then Israel too (in exactly the same position: outside the NPT and believed to have a significant nuclear arsenal) would come looking for a deal on civil nuclear technology.

That would present the Obama administration with a huge dilemma with major repercussions throughout the Middle East.

The proposed China-Pakistan nuclear deal may well be a diplomatic problem that fizzles for a while rather than exploding immediately into life.

But it has huge implications that go way beyond just the relationship between India and Pakistan and the already somewhat strained ties between Washington and Beijing.

BBC News - Nuclear powers set for Pakistan showdown

[Neo]

Chinese reactors: NSG and US duplicity

Monday, June 21, 2010

Facing a staggering crunch of energy shortage, the reported Pakistan-China deal for the provision of two reactors (Chashma 3 & 4) for the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant is reassuring. But the question will the deal go through has become a knotty issue; thanks to the duplicitous double standards of the US and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

The matter will come under deliberation during the plenary session of the NSG being held in New Zealand under the chairmanship of Hungary during the third week of the current month.

This is a moment of truth for the 46-member nuclear trade regulatory body, whose guidelines are voluntary and not legally binding. Following bending of rules and violation of its own charter by allowing nuclear trade with India, a non-NPT signatory, how will the NPT prevent fully safe guarded nuclear reactor’s sale to Pakistan remains a moot point.

Pakistan contracted China for construction of the Chashma Nuclear Reactor (Chashma 1) in 1991, which was finished and began operating in 2000. In 2004, China joined the NSG and formalised its ongoing nuclear cooperation.

A longstanding framework agreement with Pakistan committed China to provide a second reactor (Chashma 2), more research reactors plus supply of all fuel in perpetuity for these units, it notified the NSG.

The construction for the second reactor commenced in 2005 and is likely to finish in 2011. So far so good but it is the planned expansion of the Chashma project by Pakistan by adding two more reactors with power generation capacity of 650 MW (Chashma 3 & 4) that has raised the heckles in the US. Pakistan had enlisted China in 2004 for the extension of the Chashma project by addition of two reactors and a commitment prior to China’s joining of the NSG cartel enjoys exemption from its guidelines. The Chinese position on the issue was articulated by a spokesman of its foreign ministry.

“The cooperation is subject to safeguards and the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It is in compliance with respective international obligations of the two countries,” said the spokesman.

US double standards in allowing the nuclear trade with India while the country stays outside the ambit of the NPT and preventing a transparent IAEA covered Pakistani deal of a restricted nature with China has knocked the authenticity from under the US attempts to block the sale of the two Chinese reactors to Pakistan.

Daryl G Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control association, said the China-Pakistan deal “is some of the fallout of the India-US civil nuclear agreement” — which included the special exemption for nuclear trade.

It is worth recollecting that even as the Indo-US deal was a Bush administration initiative, it was strongly supported by then senators Barack Obama, Joseph R Biden Jr and Hillary Rodham Clinton; all of whom are now pivots of the power structure in the US.

The US opposition to the sale of reactors to Pakistan and its pressure bearing tactics on China appear highly discriminatory. When the US made its own “NSG rule suspending deal with India” in 2008, it wouldn’t have been possible without a tacit acquiescence of the Chinese government.

As highlighted by Mark Hibbs of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; “Beijing could have blocked the NSG exemption for India but accommodated the pressure of the United States and its allies on this issue. Now, the bill is coming due as Islamabad demands equal treatment. It would be reasonable for China to expect reciprocity from the US in the NSG, given that it was Washington that started changing the rules”.

There is a growing perception in Pakistan that it is fully entitled to a nuclear deal that would allow it to trade in nuclear technology on the lines of the Indo-US nuclear deal made possible through back bending US endeavours.

US diplomats beginning in 2005 held out to Pakistan a distant promise that it would be exempted from the NSG safeguards. Among heightened expectations, the issue was raised at the first round of strategic dialogue held in Washington on Mar 24-25 and would certainly continue to re-emerge in any Pak-US interaction even as the US response has remained non-committal and evasive.

The US arguments that it held protracted dialogue with India following the May detonation of nuclear device by India before reaching a nuclear understanding don’t hold to reason. India refused to commit to any of the benchmarks demanded by the US interlocutors like signing the NPT and reaching an understanding on the FMCT, and even then was rewarded with the Indo-US deal that lifted all restrictions on nuclear trade and technology for India.

In fact, the deal has helped India in speeding up its production of fissile material and capability to produce nuclear weapons. In this backdrop, why the US should object to the sale of IAEA covered nuclear reactors, for energy generation by Pakistan, remains an enigma.

Chinese reactors: NSG and US duplicity

[Selma Shirazi]

Originally Posted by Neo

Chinese reactors: NSG and US duplicity

Excellent read, thanks for sharing Neo.

The world will finally see the duplicity and discriminative bending of proliferation laws USA applied by giving India the exemption. Pandora's box is opened and this time USA is responsible for it.

Way to go China, you're truly a friend!
I really hope we pull this off!