Statement by Official Spokesperson
We have seen the "Communique" issued by the Foreign Ministers of the G-8 countries at their meeting held in London on June 12, 1998.
India's views on the contents of the communique have been clearly articulated in our government's responses to the declarations issued after the various meetings of the P-5, the G-8, and the United Nations Security Council Resolution. Attention is invited in particular to the Official Spokesman's statement of June 10, 1998, relating to the latest G-8 meeting.
It is unfortunate that the G-8 statement ignores the positive gestures made by the Government of India in recent weeks. These include, inter alia, the institution of a moratorium on nuclear testing; our willingness to explore ways and means for de jure formalisation of this undertaking; readiness to engage in negotiations on an FMCT in the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva; maintenance and further development of strict export controls on nuclear related materials and technologies.
Further, India remains committed to developing a framework of peaceful relations with Pakistan through a broadbased and sustained bilateral dialogue. This provides an effective means of identifying the possibilities of mutually beneficial cooperation and resolving outstanding issues through bilateral negotiations. It would also include consideration of CBMs such as our proposal for a no-first-use agreement. In this process of dialogue, there is no place for third party involvement of any kind whatsoever. These gestures reflect both our desire to further the cause of global disarmament and non-proliferation as well as our dedication to promoting peace and stability in the region. It is a matter of regret that the G-8 Foreign Ministers Joint Communique has not taken into account these proposals but has instead repeated unrealistic prescription, couched in the language of pressure.
India has been a responsible member of the international community and remains strongly committed to the objective disarmament in general and nuclear disarmament in particular. However, we would like to make it clear that India's security concerns cannot be viewed in a narrow South Asian construct. Indeed, the pursuit of non proliferation in an arbitrary selective regional context remains the fundamental flaw in the global nuclear disarmament regime. The Government of India cannot consider any prescriptions which have the effect of undermining India's independent decision making. Like any sovereign nation, India will continue to take decisions in this regard on the basis of its own assessment and national security requirements.
The G-8 have professed an interest in the welfare and economic growth of the people of the region. These professions are inconsistent with the actions threatened in the Joint Communique.
Independent of the advice of those who claim to bear the responsibilities of the international community, the Government of India is autonomously embarked on a well-considered, comprehensive and purposeful programme meant to further genuine non-proliferation and global nuclear disarmament, and aimed at building confidence and cooperation in the region. Coercive and intrusive prescriptions are not only ill-advised but also counter-productive. Instead of offering homilies, the leading industrial economies should reflect seriously on the proposals made by India in recent weeks which offer a reasonable framework for dialogue in meeting our common concerns.
New Delhi,
13th June 1998
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