Juggling nuclear interests tough job – Opinion – Editorial – General

Juggling nuclear interests tough job – Opinion – Editorial – General – The Canberra Times

Juggling nuclear interests tough job The Canberra Times CARL UNGERER2/02/2009 Nuclear weapons policy is high on the list of priorities for the administration of new United States President Barack Obama. In addition to advocating direct diplomatic engagement with both Iran and North Korea over nuclear proliferation concerns, the Administration has signalled a shift in policy direction across a broad range of nuclear-related issues.

If fully implemented, the scale and ambition of this policy shift will have direct consequences for Australia’s foreign and national security policy interests, including the Rudd Government’s new agenda for nuclear disarmament. Obama is likely to move quickly on strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, implementing a global ban on the production on new nuclear materials, stopping the development of new nuclear weapons, seeking dramatic reductions in stockpiles of nuclear weapons and material, and making the US-Russian ban on intermediate-range missiles a global agreement.

But not all members of the Obama team share this view………………

…………………India, in particular, unsure of its thermonuclear weapon design from the May 1998 tests, would welcome the opportunity to resume testing. Pakistan would immediately follow suit. And in the context of strained bilateral relations over recent terrorist attacks, could escalate nuclear tensions in South Asia to a dangerous new level.

Renewed nuclear testing among the major powers would consign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to the dustbin of history……………………

Australia has competing interests at stake in the nuclear weapons debate. Since signing the non-proliferation treaty in 1972, Australia has supported, with equal vigour, the extended nuclear guarantee and international arms control agreements that would eliminate nuclear weapons. And we have a growing interest in uranium exports. So far we have managed to balance these competing interests in ways that have not upset the US nuclear cart.

But under the Obama Administration, the gap between Australia’s advocacy of nuclear weapons elimination and US nuclear strategy is a potential source of diplomatic uneasiness.

Obama’s priorities to strengthen the non-proliferation treaty regime will likely fall short of the elimination pledge that Australia and others are seeking. And if the US implements its force modernisation plans, including a new round of nuclear weapons testing, Australia would be forced to censure the move.

Juggling nuclear interests tough job – Opinion – Editorial – General – The Canberra Times