Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Social Pulse
Business Video
The Freeland File
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Campaign Polling
Tales from the Trail
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Social Pulse
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Nader Mousavizadeh
Lucy P. Marcus
David Cay Johnston
Bethany McLean
Anatole Kaletsky
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Jack & Suzy Welch
Frederick Kempe
Christopher Papagianis
Mark Leonard
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Breakingviews Video
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Lipper Awards 2012
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (1)
Full Focus
Editor's choice
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. See more
Images of May
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
U.S. hits target in high-stakes missile shield test
9:47am EDT
Britain's queen shakes hands with ex-IRA chief
|
12:31pm EDT
Colorado wildfire intensifies, consumes 15,000 acres
|
11:32am EDT
Rebels storm Pro-Assad Syrian TV channel
|
12:34pm EDT
U.S. seizes cargo ship suspected of carrying stowaways
11:13am EDT
Discussed
92
California tobacco tax hike narrowly defeated at polls
93
Sandusky lawyers may use NBC tape error in appeal
68
Most Americans oppose health law but like provisions
Watched
Wildfires rage in Colorado
Tue, Jun 26 2012
Teen prostitutes rescued in FBI sweep
Tue, Jun 26 2012
Car tech to keep us driving for longer
Tue, Jun 26 2012
Pictures
Reuters Photojournalism
Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption
Debby slams Florida
Florida declares a state of emergency due to flooding. Slideshow
Prison graduation
Inmates celebrate earning their high school diploma from prison with a graduation ceremony at New York City's Rikers Island correctional facility. Slideshow
West worried by China-Pakistan atomic ties: sources
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related Topics
World »
China »
Nuclear Power »
By Fredrik Dahl
VIENNA |
Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:53am EDT
VIENNA (Reuters) - Western states pressured China at closed-door talks last week to address concerns about its plans to expand a nuclear power plant in Pakistan and provide more information, but were rebuffed, two diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.
Beijing's atomic relations with Islamabad have caused unease in Washington, Delhi and other capitals due to Pakistan's history of spreading nuclear arms technology and fears about the integrity of international non proliferation rules.
"A number of countries asked questions and expressed concerns," said one official, speaking about the annual plenary session of the 46-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), held on June 21-22 in the U.S. city of Seattle.
But China showed no sign of reconsidering its position on building two more reactors at the Chashma nuclear power complex in Pakistan's Punjab region, the official and another source said, a stance Beijing also took when the issue was raised in last year's NSG talks in the Dutch city of Noordwijk.
As its ties with the United States have suffered, Pakistan has been trying to move closer to Asian powerhouse China, which has welcomed Islamabad's overtures.
The two-day meeting also debated the issue of India's possible membership in the NSG, a consensus-based cartel that seeks to ensure nuclear exports are not used for military purposes by agreeing rules for such trade, the sources said.
In 2010, the United States announced backing for India's membership - a step that would make it the only country outside the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in the group - but Pakistan has warned against allowing its rival to join.
"If India were to apply now, there would be quite a detailed discussion on non proliferation-related issues before a decision is taken," one of the sources said, suggesting there were differences of opinion within the NSG.
A statement by the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration confirmed that the NSG's relationship with India was discussed, but did not mention the China-Pakistan issue.
"Participating governments called on all states to exercise vigilance and make best efforts to ensure that none of their exports of goods or technologies contribute to nuclear weapons programs," it said on its website.
Close relations between China and Pakistan reflect a long-standing shared wariness of their common neighbor, India, and a desire to counter U.S. influence across the region.
Analysts say China agreed to expand Chashma to match a 2008 nuclear energy deal between India and the United States.
NUCLEAR PRINCIPLE EROSION?
Washington and other governments have said China should seek approval for the planned reactors from the NSG. But China argues that the construction of two additional units at Chashma was part of a bilateral deal sealed before it joined the NSG in 2004. China also supplied the facility's first two reactors.
European Union members of the NSG delivered a joint statement about the issue in Seattle, the two sources said. The U.S. delegation also "posed a question," one of them said.
"China basically reiterated that it comes under the grandfather clause," one source said, referring to Beijing's argument that the agreement was struck before it joined the nuclear suppliers' forum.
To receive nuclear exports, nations that are not one of the five officially recognized atomic weapons states must usually place their nuclear activities under the safeguards of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency, NSG rules say.
When the United States sealed a nuclear supply deal with India in 2008 that China and others found questionable because Delhi - like Islamabad - is outside the NPT, Washington won a waiver from that rule after contentious negotiations.
Pakistan wants a similar civilian nuclear agreement with the United States to help meet its growing energy needs.
But Washington is reluctant, largely because a Pakistani nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, admitted in 2004 to transferring nuclear secrets to North Korea, Iran and Iraq.
Pakistan tested nuclear devices in 1998, soon after India, and both nations refuse to join the NPT, which would oblige them to scrap nuclear weapons.
Nuclear analyst Mark Hibbs said there had been an erosion of the principle that recipients of nuclear exports must put all their atomic activities under IAEA safeguards.
"First by Russia a decade ago in its trade with India, then in the U.S.-sponsored India deal, and now by China's trade with Pakistan," Hibbs, of the Carnegie Endowment think-tank, said.
"Since the late 1990s we have seen a weakening of milestone non proliferation commitments by big powerful countries."
(Editing by Andrew Osborn)
World
China
Nuclear Power
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (1)
politicaljunkie wrote:
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
AdChoices
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.