Japan warns India against future nuclear test

NEW DELHI, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Japan has warned India against any future nuclear test, saying it may prompt Tokyo to suspend cooperation with New Delhi in civil nuclear field, said local media reports on Sunday.

"Japan will have no option but to suspend our cooperation in nuclear energy if India again detonated a nuclear device," visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada told the media in the national capital, after holding talks with Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna late Saturday.

"I don't think we can suggest that India should refrain from conducting a nuclear test but if such a thing were to happen, Japan will have no option but to suspend cooperation," the Japanese Minister said, adding that there would be a special clause in the agreement to facilitate this move by Japan.

Japan has been hesitant to sign a deal because India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Okada's two-day visit came a day after India's Cabinet of Minister approved a delayed draft law that will pave the way for foreign companies to build reactors in India.

India's atomic energy market is worth 150 billion U.S. dollars.

Japan warns India against future N-test

NEW DELHI: Making it abundantly clear that any civil nuclear cooperation with India will hinge on New Delhi’s commitment to non-proliferation and disarmament, Japanese foreign minister Katsuya Okada on Saturday warned New Delhi against carrying out any further nuclear test.

Shortly after the strategic dialogue with his Indian counterpart S M Krishna, Okada said Japan "will have no option but to suspend our cooperation" in nuclear energy if India again detonated a nuclear device.

"I don’t think we can suggest that India should refrain from conducting a nuclear test but if such a thing were to happen, Japan will have no option but to suspend cooperation," he said, adding that there would be a special clause in the agreement to facilitate this move by Japan.

Okada said the decision to launch negotiations for civil nuclear cooperation agreement with India, which had not signed NPT, was the toughest decision he had taken as a foreign minister in his 10-month tenure.

The newly elected Japanese PM, Naota Kan, had recently said Tokyo would try to bring India into the NPT fold. Japan overcame intense domestic pressure to initiate negotiations with India for civil nuclear cooperation in June.

Japan warns India against nuclear tests

By

• AFP

Published Saturday, August 21, 2010

Japan’s foreign minister warned India on Saturday against conducting any new nuclear tests, saying such a move would force a halt to any civilian nuclear co-operation between the two countries.

The warning came a day after India's cabinet approved a long-delayed draft law that will clear the way for foreign nuclear groups to build reactors in the $150 billion Indian atomic energy market.

Before leaving for his two-day visit to India, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said any civilian nuclear deal between the two countries needed a clause to define how Tokyo would respond to any nuclear test by New Delhi.

"Japan will have no option but to suspend our co-operation" in the event of a nuclear test by India, Okada told a news conference in New Delhi

The two countries launched talks in June on signing an atomic civilian co-operation agreement which will allow Tokyo to export nuclear power generation technology and related equipment to energy-hungry India.

But survivors of the World War II US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have opposed the move, as India has developed nuclear arms without signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

India stunned the world in 1998 by staging nuclear tests, prompting a tit-for-tat response by rival Pakistan.

Okada did not mention Japanese calls for a clause in the pact dealing with any new nuclear tests by India but he earlier said in Tokyo that how the clause is incorporated will "depend on upcoming negotiations".

India's foreign minister SM Krishna told the joint news conference that "negotiations will continue quickly and that we will jointly work towards a good agreement which will result in 'win-win' for both India and Japan".

The Indian government said there was no deadline for concluding the agreement. Earlier reports had said the deal was expected to be signed next month.

India's parliament is expected to pass next week a nuclear liabilities bill which is part of a landmark atomic energy pact with the United States in 2008 that granted New Delhi access to foreign nuclear technology.

Okada earlier in the day held talks with Krishna to firm up bilateral ties.

"India-Japan relations have undergone a significant and qualitative shift in recent years," an Indian government statement said.

Both sides have expressed "resolve to enhance our mutually beneficial strategic and global partnership", the statement added.

The two sides also discussed economic cooperation, including a multi-billion-dollar Japanese loan for the Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor connecting northern cities with western ports.

Japan is the sixth-largest foreign investor in India and two-way trade totals more than 12 billion dollars.

After leaving India, Okada was slated to travel to Thailand for talks with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and other senior leaders on Monday.

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