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India nuclear tests condemned by Pakistan, U.S.
Clinton administration considers sanctions
May 11, 1998
Web posted at: 7:52 p.m. EDT (2352 GMT)
In this story:
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- The government of India conducted three underground nuclear tests on Monday and claimed it is capable of having a nuclear weapons program. Neighboring Pakistan condemned the action and said it reserves the right to take appropriate measures for its own security.
A "deeply disappointed" United States said it was considering sanctions against India, although it was not immediately clear what action Washington had in mind.
A L S O :
India's neighbors silent or angry, others condemn tests
The Bomb: Who has it? Who wants it?
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced the three tests by India, which first demonstrated its nuclear capability in 1974. Monday's tests were the first since then.
Vajpayee said the explosions in the desert 330 miles (530 km) southwest of New Delhi did not result in the release of radiation into the atmosphere.
The tests were conducted at 3:45 p.m. (1015 GMT/6:15 a.m. EDT) at a nuclear test ground in Pokhran, in the northwestern state of Rajasthan.
Arms race?
India's action "has sucked Pakistan into an arms race," said Pakistani Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan. "The entire world should condemn it." The two Asian neighbors have fought three wars in the last 50 years.
Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took control of a Hindu nationalist-led government in March, saying that India will take all steps to protect its territory, including building nuclear weapons to counter what it called military adventurism by Pakistan.
"These tests have established that India has a proven capability for a weaponized nuclear program," said Brijesh Mishra, a top aide to the prime minister.
He said the tests would help scientists design "nuclear weapons of different yields for different applications and for different delivery systems."
Past governments have said India's nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes such as generating electricity.
Last week, Pakistan's top nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, said if India exploded a nuclear device Pakistan would respond in kind within weeks. "We don't make nuclear weapons, but the capability is there," he said.
Last month, Pakistan test fired a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 1,500 kilometers (932 miles).
India, Pakistan and Israel are the three nations widely suspected of nuclear capability that have not joined the 1970 nuclear non-proliferation treaty, which is now observed by 185 countries.
U.S. 'deeply disappointed'
The Clinton administration, which also condemned India's action, said it was caught off guard. "The United States is deeply disappointed by the decision of the government of India to conduct three nuclear tests," said presidential spokesman Mike McCurry.
"This runs counter to the effort the international community is making to promulgate a comprehensive ban on such testing."
A senior State Department official said Washington is "looking at the possibility" of imposing sanctions on India, but did not elaborate.
President Clinton is supposed to visit India and Pakistan this year. "It's impossible to tell what the impact is on the trip at this point," McCurry added.
Three different devices tested
Vajpayee said the devices tested were a fission device, a low-yield device and a thermonuclear device.
India gave no advance warnings of the nuclear tests, a spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), David Kyd, said in Vienna.
Since India is a not a member of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, it is not obliged to submit its nuclear facilities to IAEA inspection.
New Delhi Bureau Chief Anita Pratap, White House Correspondent Eileen O'Connor, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related story:
- India conducts underground nuclear tests - May 11, 1998
- India, Pakistan break ice at talks - April 9, 1997
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