NSG exemption mandatory for China-Pak nuke deal: US

The US appeared in a publicly 'non-opposing' mode over China's proposed civil nuclear deal with Pakistan, but insisted that Beijing needs an NSG exemption to go ahead with the agreement as was done in the case of the US-India atomic pact.

"If China wishes to proceed with this (nuclear deal with Pakistan), they are going to require an exemption from the Nuclear Suppliers Group," a senior State Department official told reporters.

Asked about US' stand on the issue, the official said, it had asked China to clarify the details of its second sale of additional reactors to Pakistan but stopped short of opposing it publicly.

"The NSG operates by consensus and we will have the opportunity to weigh in," he said.

The official was responding to questions as to why the United States is "not publicly opposing" the China-Pak nuclear deal, despite the fact that it has serious concerns over Pakistan's track record on nuclear proliferations.

"We have asked China to clarify the details of its second sale of additional nuclear reactors to Pakistan," State Department spokesperson P J Crowley told reporters at his daily news briefing yesterday.

This appears to extend beyond cooperation that was grandfathered when China was approved for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, he said in response to a question.

"We believe that such cooperation would require a specific exemption approved by consensus of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, as was done for India. So we're not looking at any difference between the two," Crowley said.

The State Department spokesman said that the US has been taking up this issue with the Chinese periodically.

"I believe this was an issue that we've had, you know, periodic discussions with China for some time," he said.

The China-Pak nuclear deal is expected to come up before the 46-nation NSG meeting next week in New Zealand.

In a recent article, a prominent American nuclear expert said this would breach international protocol about the trade of nuclear equipment and material.

"The move would breach international protocol about the trade of nuclear equipment and material," Mark Hibbs, said in the latest issue in the June issue of the prestigious Foreign Policy magazine.

The Washington Post said 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 US officials disagree on the issue.