The US has indicated it would not oppose a Sino-Pak civilian nuclear deal but wants it to be in compliance with NSG rules, notwithstanding warnings by top scholars that such an approach would be a high-stakes diplomatic gamble and "short-sighted" move.
"We will seek to make sure that, should this deal go forward, it is in compliance with the rules of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)," state department spokesperson PJ Crowley told reporters at his daily press briefing last evening.
Crowley was not sure if the issue specifically came up or would figure in discussions between the US and China during the ongoing Strategic and Economic Dialogue between the two countries in Beijing, for which secretary of state Hillary Clinton is in China.
"I don't know if this will come up during the secretary's meetings in China this week. We are talking to China more broadly about the implications of this deal," Crowley said.
Earlier in the day, two noted American scholars on South Asia said there are signs of the Obama administration softening its position towards Chinese-Pakistani nuclear cooperation.
US officials have avoided pressing China against moving forward with a deal to supply two new nuclear reactors to Pakistan, they said.
"The Obama administration's policy contrasts with that of the previous Bush administration, which actively discouraged additional Chinese assistance to Pakistan's nuclear programme," said Lisa Curtis and Nicholas Hamisevicz of the Heritage Foundation.
"Given the widespread proliferation that resulted from the Pakistan-based AQ Khan network as well as continued concerns about the existence of terrorist networks in Pakistan that seek access to nuclear weapons technology - a nod from Washington to further Chinese-Pakistani nuclear cooperation is short-sighted," they said.
They said the argument that the China-Pakistan nuclear reactor deal should be seen in the same light as the US-India civil nuclear accord discounts the vastly different proliferation records of Pakistan and India, the different oversight requirements generally imposed by the US compared to China; and the prevalence of Pakistan-based terrorist groups seeking nuclear weapons technology.
The two scholars argued that an Obama administration decision to allow the China-Pakistan nuclear deal to advance unhindered would be a high-stakes diplomatic gamble and a short-sighted move.
