WASHINGTON: The US has asked China to halt its plan to construct two more nuclear reactors in Pakistan and indicated that any new Sino-Pak cooperation in the atomic field would require "consensus" approval from the NSG, a "difficult" to achieve. "Although Pakistan's energy needs are real and increasing, we believe Pakistan's proliferation record would make NSG consensus difficult were China to request an exception," State Department Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs Matthew Reynolds said in a letter to Democrat Congressman from Massachusetts, Edward J Markey.
Reynolds said Washington has already communicated it's "position clearly" to Islamabad and Beijing that the proposed cooperation between the two countries to construct two more nuclear reactors in Pakistan should not move forward. "We have communicated our position clearly to our Chinese and Pakistani interlocutors at multiple levels in Washington, Beijing, and Islamabad, and have made plain our view that proposed cooperation on Chasma III and IV should not move forward.
The US position is that cooperation on the construction of two new reactors, Chasma III and IV, would be inconsistent with the commitments China made at the time of its adherence to Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) guidelines in 2004. "We also have been in contact with other NSG members, a number of whom have expressed similar concern at the recent reports," the State Department said in the letter, which was made public. Reynolds also said that the US has sought and continue to seek clarification from Islamabad and Beijing on this matter. Markey has been a vocal critic of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, arguing that Washington's atomic cooperation with New Delhi will send wrong signals to China and Pakistan.
This October, Markey had written the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, expressing concerns on cooperation between China and Pakistan. Following Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari's October trip to Beijing, senior Pakistani officials have announced that Beijing and Islamabad had agreed to expand bilateral civil nuclear cooperation at the Chasma complex, to include the construction of two additional reactors. Meanwhile, Markey in a statement asked China not to violate its international obligations by selling new nuclear reactors to Pakistan.
"The United States has clearly stated that such a sale would be against international nonproliferation rules, and I hope other countries stand up to deliver the same message." "Pakistan is responsible for more nuclear proliferation than any other single country; nuclear cooperation is off the table" he said.
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