Australia commits NSG support for India
May 03, 2012
by IANS
New Delhi : Citing India's "very good" non-proliferation track record, Australia Thursday committed to support its membership in international atomic export control regimes, including the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
"In principle, we would look at India's application (for the NSG) very favourably," Australian High Commissioner Peter Varghese said here. "India has a very good track record of non-proliferation. We are entirely comfortable with NSG exemption to India."
Varghese was replying to questions after delivering a talk on "Australia-India Strategic Partnership in an Asian Century" at Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank.
"If India is able to demonstrate that it can comply with rules and regulations of the systems in place to manage effective systems of export control "¦ If India is able to do that, I don't see any reason why India ought not be admitted to all of those groups," Varghese said about the four blocs - the NSG, the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia Group.
The envoy said Australia has not taken any decision about it yet because India has not made a formal application to join any of these groups, but has only signalled its interest in joining it.
He said India's nuclear capacity was now a fact of life and Australia accepted that India now occupied a unique position in relation to non-proliferation regime. He said Australia would like to see India as a part of the non-proliferation treaty (NPT).
He pointed out that the Australian government has also agreed to supply uranium to India. Varghese said Australia and India relations have the capacity to develop into a "real" strategic partnership as interests of the two countries were converging in the evolving geostrategic environment of Asia.
Discussing Australia-India relations in the broader regional geostrategic framework of the Indo-Pacific region, he noted that India has been increasingly playing an important role in the security of Asia and its growing "strategic influence" in the region has seen its return to Asia's "strategic matrix".
The challenges of the Indo-Pacific region "reinforces India's role as a strategic partner" for Australia, he said. "Over this century we can expect India to become a more important player in the security of Asia. Today,
it makes more sense to think of the Indo Pacific, rather than the Asia Pacific, as the crucible of Australian security." He said the future of Asia will be shaped by two key issues - the strong economic growth and the strategic stability.
Indian Defence News - Australia commits NSG support for India