Wednesday, December 7 2005 13:13 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: India 'must' make transparent and credible its civilian and military separation plan as part of the landmark Indo-US deal on nuclear cooperation, the head of US Senate foreign relations committee has said, warning that an 'opaque' plan would raise questions in the Congress about New Delhi's intentions.

"To win over the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) partners and the Congress, it is my view that the Indian side must be willing to share a transparent separation plan. Why do I say that? Because an opaque or incomprehensible Indian separation plan would only raise more questions, particularly in the Congress, about India's intentions", Senator Richard Lugar, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told the Aspen Strategy Group partipating in the U.S.-India strategic dialogue yesterday (Dec 6,2005).

He said the debate on the Indo-US Joint Statement regarding nuclear cooperation "Has not progressed very far on Capitol Hill."

"While the Bush Administration has been very clear in discussions with the Indian government about its expectations, let me emphasise that any Indian plan will have to pass muster with the US Congress. That should not be viewed as a threat, but rather as a political challenge that must be met," the Republican senator from Indiana said.

"The Committee understands that the Indian side is working hard on the elements of a plan to separate civil and military facilities and programs. The point that I want to emphasize is that this plan, firstly, must be credible; secondly, it must be transparent; and, lastly, it must be defensible from a non-proliferation standpoint" he said.

Transparency is one of the three criteria Lugar said his Committee will be using to judge the efficacy of the Indian separation plan.

The other criterion will have to do with the safeguards, he said, pointing that the United States and other Parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) can provide nuclear material and 'trigger list' goods to civil nuclear facilities in India only if those facilities are subject to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.

"Safeguards focus on tracking nuclear material, so all material exported to India and all material used in safeguarded nuclear facilities would have to be subject to IAEA safeguards. U.S. law requires safeguards to be maintained on nuclear material that the U.S. transfers to India or that is derived or produced from transferred material or equipment", Lugar told the delegation.

Another aspect will have to do with non-assistance.

"The separation plan must ensure, and the safeguards must confirm, that U.S.-India civil nuclear cooperation does not in any way assist India in manufacturing nuclear weapons. This is consistent with U.S. obligations under the NPT and with U.S. law," he said.

Senator Lugar urged New Delhi to think in maxim list terms and include as many facilities as possible within the scope of the civilian declaration saying that a minimalist approach will likely only delay consideration of this initiative in the US Congress and in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

"Or, at worst, it could result in unfavourable action by one or both bodies," he said.

Lugar cautioned India on pursuing the so-called 'voluntary offer' safeguards, which are viewed by many in the Congress as inconsistent with the Administration's understanding of India's commitments in the Joint Statement.

"In the Bush Administration's view, India's safeguard arrangements are supposed to conform to those in place in states other than the five Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)-recognized nuclear weapons states. However, because India has nuclear weapons, the Additional Protocol it negotiates with the IAEA will likely not conform to the Model Protocol that the US is pressing non-nuclear weapons states to endorse.

"It seems to me that both the U.S. and the Indian Governments must plan to consult with one another on the form and structure that these arrangements will take before, not after, the Congress is asked to place its imprimatur on the U.S-India nuclear cooperation agreement," he said.