India has taken multiple measures to prevent terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons, according to a progress report circulated at the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in Washington.
The idea behind the two-day summit, hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama, is to get political leaderships across countries directly involved in dealing with the threat of nuclear terrorism.
India has set up a permanent team of technical and security experts from multiple ministries and agencies that conducts tabletop exercises simulating nuclear smuggling, phased out the use of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and built a database of all radioactive sources in the country.
It has also started real-time tracking of radioactive sources when they are transported and set up a network of 23 emergency response centres across the country for detecting and responding to any nuclear or radiological emergency. India is also in the process of equipping all major seaports and airports of the country with radiation detection machines.
While nuclear security is a serious domestic concern, India also used the platform to push its desire for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the exclusive club that controls global nuclear trade.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met leaders of Canada, Kazakhstan, Britain, New Zealand, Switzerland and Japan, all members of NSG. India’s admission is blocked primarily due to the continuing opposition from China. Indian diplomatic sources said there was no specific discussion with the American side on the question of India’s admission to the NSG, “but progress is being made.”
“India’s export controls list and guidelines have been harmonised with those of the NSG, and India looks forward to strengthening its contribution to shared non-proliferation objectives through membership of the export controls regimes,” the progress report said.
Political level coordination between countries on nuclear security will continue in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) biennial ministerial conference — the next one is in December — but the possibility of another summit is “very much open,” said Indian sources. Senior officials involved in the last four summits will continue their collaboration in the format of a Contact Group, and they would decide whether and when a summit is required, one official told The Hindu .
Besides the IAEA, global coordination to prevent terrorists from acquiring nuclear material will continue in four other forums — Interpol, the U.N., the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism.
Key concernThe security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons remains a key concern for the U.S., but that was not a topic at the NSS. The U.S. has repeatedly said Pakistan’s decision to deploy battlefield weapons could increase the risks associated with its theft or sabotage. But the U.S. was particular that the NSS could not be a forum for “naming and shaming any particular country.”
Mr. Modi, however, touched upon the risk of insider threats to nuclear material in general terms. Pakistani diplomats, talking on the sidelines of the summit, quoted statistics and claimed that it has one of the best nuclear safety records in the world.
