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Counterproliferation Initiative Expanding, State's Joseph Says

02 May 2006

Under secretary attributes PSI's success to voluntary nature, informal structure

By David Anthony Denny
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Support for the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) now has spread to nearly 80 countries, a senior State Department official says.

Since it was first proposed by President Bush in Poland in May 2003, the number of countries supporting the PSI exceeds 70, and several others cooperate on an informal basis, according to Robert Joseph, under secretary of state for arms control and international security.

Under the Proliferation Security Initiative, participants agree to take effective measures to interdict the transfer or transport of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems and related materials.  The PSI envisions states working cooperatively, employing their national capabilities to develop a broad range of legal, diplomatic, economic, military and other tools to interdict shipments of such items.

Participation by nearly 80 countries "represents phenomenal growth from the time that the president announced this in May of 2003," Joseph told the Washington File April 25.

PSI grew very rapidly following the president's announcement and the work of a core group of governments (Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States), he said.  This core group developed a set of principles for participation in PSI and then opened the initiative to voluntary participation, he said.

Growth in PSI participation has continued at a steady pace, Joseph said, with a number of recent endorsements that represent the continued expansion of the initiative.  He said PSI has been endorsed by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and is reflected in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1540 (dealing with the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction). (See related article.)

PSI "has become a standard of good nonproliferation behavior," Joseph said.  In the under secretary's view, as more countries understand the nature of PSI and its successes, it will grow even more.

"The success of the initiative is in part attributable to the much different approach that we took from traditional nonproliferation initiatives," Joseph said.  "This is not a treaty-based approach," but rather a bringing together of those governments "that are committed to acting proactively to stop or disrupt the trade in proliferation," he said.

PSI participants act under national legal authorities, he said, and consistent with existing international legal authorities.  It has become clear throughout the international community, Joseph said, that PSI is fully consistent with international law -- particularly treaties governing the banning of certain weapons and discouraging proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

President Bush envisioned PSI as a global effort when he launched it, said Joseph, with countries from all regions involved.  Participants include those located in key geostrategic regions, as well as countries that serve as major transshipment hubs for a broad range of materials.

"It is not a Western initiative; it is an initiative that is truly international," he said.

Joseph mentioned two upcoming PSI events.  Turkey will sponsor an exercise in May that will focus primarily on interdiction.  Poland will host the first High Level Political Meeting of the PSI -- a major policy-level gathering in June that corresponds to the third anniversary of the initiative.

In some recent exercises, he said, more than one type of interdiction was involved, including law enforcement elements and the sharing of information or intelligence, and the operation of military capabilities, including coast guards.  To date 21 interdiction exercises have taken place, with complexity increasing with each exercise.

"We're trying to broaden the scope as a means of responding to the growing proliferators challenge," Joseph said, because proliferators are learning that they have to take new measures.

"What you have is an offense-defense interaction," he added, where proliferators change tactics and methods when they see that governments are prepared to stop them.

A fact sheet and a statement of principles on PSI are available on the State Department Web site.

For additional information on U.S. policy, see Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)