India's neighbors silent or angry, others condemn tests

May 11, 1998
Web posted at: 7:53 p.m. EDT (2353 GMT)

(CNN) -- Neighboring nations were silent or complained while other nations around the globe reacted with dismay to India's tests of three nuclear weapons Monday.

Pakistan, the United States and Germany all condemned the demonstration of nuclear weapons capability. The European Union was joined by Canada in expressing dismay at the test. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed "deep regret."

France, which conducted its "final" nuclear tests in 1995-96 under worldwide condemnation, and China, a nuclear power which has border disputes with neighboring India and is suspected of supplying high-tech weapons to Pakistan, were silent on the issue.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced the three tests by India, which last exploded a nuclear device in 1974. He said the explosions in the desert 330 miles (530 kilometers) southwest of New Delhi did not result in the release of radiation into the atmosphere.

CNN's Ralph Begleiter reports on world reaction to India's nuclear tests 3 minute 52 second VXtreme video

Pakistan, which has fought three wars with India since 1947, strongly condemned the tests. Earlier this month, Pakistan's top nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, said if India exploded a nuclear device, Pakistan would respond in kind within a week. Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan said Monday that the Pakistani Cabinet will decide whether to conduct its own nuclear tests.

The United States said it was "deeply disappointed" by India's action but did not say if it would ban aid or impose sanctions to keep sophisticated technology out of India.

White House spokesman Mike McCurry said President Clinton "has authorized a formal presentation of our displeasure" to the Indian government. The United States was also urging Pakistan to exercise restraint.

State Department spokesman James Rubin told CNN that the Indian foreign minister met with top U.S. officials last Friday, and the foreign minister did not indicate the possibility of nuclear tests.

CNN also learned that Vajpayee sent a letter to Clinton after the tests were conducted. Administration sources said the letter gave these reasons for conducting the tests:

• Domestic political considerations, including the prime minister's campaign promise to pursue the nuclear option.

• Concerns about China's intentions along their common border.

• Concerns about tensions and a continuing military competition with Pakistan.

Sources told CNN that Vajpayee's letter was perhaps an effort to prevent India's nuclear showmanship from derailing Clinton's plans to visit both India and Pakistan this fall.

German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said the tests were "a slap in the face" to the countries that have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Neither India or Pakistan have signed the treaty on grounds that it protects the existing nuclear arsenals of powers like China, the United States and three other acknowledged nuclear-armed nations.

India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea have been classified as so-called "threshold states" -- that is, nations widely suspected of nuclear capability. They have not joined the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which has been signed now by 185 countries.

"The German government condemns today's nuclear tests in India. They are a setback for international efforts to bring about global disarmament and non-proliferation," Kinkel said in a statement.

The 15-nation European Union expressed dismay about the tests and said EU officials would discuss the matter Tuesday.

"The European Union has a strong interest in the peace and stability of South Asia and is concerned about the risk of nuclear and missile proliferation," junior British Foreign Office minister Derek Fatchett said in a statement.

Britain currently holds the presidency of the European Union.

Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy said the G-8 group of industrial nations will discuss the tests at a summit this weekend in Britain.

"It may be that the Indians are putting themselves into a position where they could be isolated very quickly," he said, adding Canada would review the amount of aid it gives to India.

France, which said in 1995-96 that it needed to complete its nuclear weapons tests to help it switch to computer simulations, was hit by an informal embargo against French exports after tests in the South Pacific.

China's official Xinhua News Agency reported the Indian tests, but there was no official comment from Beijing. India and China fought a brief border war in 1962, two years before China exploded a nuclear device.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said in Vienna that New Delhi had broken no promise. "India can't be accused of breaking any promises because it hasn't made any promises," an IAEA spokesman said.

Despite the international response, Indian officials and the Indian public were clearly happy over the tests. "We have taken economic repercussions into account. We will not face any problems," said Brajesh Mishra, an aide to the prime minister.

India's month-old government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, surprised the world with its tests. When the government took power, it pledged to "exercise the option" for nuclear weapons, but it refused to explain whether that meant exploding a bomb.

CNN's Ralph Begleiter and Judd Ginsberg, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

 

Related story:

• India nuclear tests condemned by Pakistan, U.S. - May 11, 1998
• India, Pakistan break ice at talks - April 9, 1997

Related sites:

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• India on the Web
• The Official Pakistan Page
• Nuclear Control Institute (NCI), Washington D.C.
• Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO PrepCom), Vienna

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

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