ShibaPJ wrote: I am trying to look at what is beneficial to us Indians.
That is indeed what we are doing here. However, one does not have to live a lie in order to gain benefits and that is what my fundamental problem with this deal is, J18 is a lie - as the interpretations and expectations were never reconciled. It comes across as an agreement, where one of the parties was suckered in and that party was, the present GoI.
Does the 20% apply to NWS?
No.. so also the strategic non-civ programme. You enrich/ reuse it to 99.9999% for all you can.
Thank You. I know, what we can do with our own fuel. All I am saying is please do not call this de-facto NWS or enjoying the same rights and privileges as the NWS. The Rediff article boldly claims so and I wanted to point out their audacity in being able to spin without any basis in fact.
123 is also under US laws, the no test referece exists by reference and does not need to be sepcified. Any basic understanding of written contracts will clarify the issue.
India is not legally bound to HA, only to 123.. That's why it is extremely important not to have any test reference in there.
Is the US government bound by 123 and Hyde? Is Congress bound by 123 and Hyde? I will say this again - 123 does not have to say no test, it is there by reference - it means it is there in another document under which the current contract is being done. 123 will not survive an Indian test. US sanctions were always there with or without 123 but in this instance, we just signed on the dotted line. Moreover, we have set an understanding that we will understand these sanctions and accept it as we accepted the 123, which are under US laws. We are setting an expectation that except for extraneous circumstances, we are unlikely to test. We are limiting the further development of future Indian weapons to the theoretical domain only, without any opportunity for practical proofs, as demanded by our military. As any power would to on a pro active basis to ensure 360 degree security options. My understanding is the US or any other power has not yet, deployed a weapon system, unless some version of it has been tested before, so far. I do not know, what 123 says about sub-critical tests - banned by Hyde.
After having agreed to perpetual safeguards, there is no doubt and Hyde calls for it. Congress will not be voting on the bill till they see, essentially a final unsigned IAEA agreement.
So what? perpetual safeguard is only against perpetual (life-time) fuel supply. What's the issue?
So, why not say it the way it is. the Perpetual supply has conditions and one of them is - no test. The issue is an expectation has been set. The issue is India just limited her geo-political ambitions to the realm of the NPT+ category only. If there is consensus on the issue, then so be it, I will grumble a little and then eventually reconcile to the will of the people.
No, it does not change it overnight but the trajectory has been changed. What POK II started towards a trajectory, which envisaged nothing less than NWS, 123 changes it to an NPT+ category.
Again, Unkil can't bestow or take-away NWS status from us..
It is not about bestowing, it is the wrong way to look at the issue. It is about our ambitions and what was accomplished against those ambitions and the compromises made and the costs of the compromise.
but we also need to have eco. strength to count as one complete superpower.
We are a long way from being any power, let alone a super power. Our economic strength is least dependent upon this deal.
When you wake up tomorrow and this deal disappers, nothing will be lost, except for a few ruffled feathers, which can be bought for a few Rs.
Tell me, without-123, how would India manage her exponentially expanding requirements?
Coal, Hydro (untapped potential of 37K MW from NE alone), Gas, more uranium mines, supplies fron non-NSG, acceleration on 3 stage, work with others such as Russia to win them over for Uranium supplies either directly or through non NSG member Ukraine, tell the US to **** off and look the other way in our quest for energy, work on more campaign specific safeguards, send $1 billion worth of Indian made Arjun tanks and LCH to Niger for access to yellow cake, work with a sympathetic US administration to supply fuel under such safeguards using Presidential powers and win waivers from the US congress by legally bribing them to vote in India's favor, reform of PSU based power distributors, subsidies for Wind and Solar, convert to ethanol for diesel fired plants (I do not know, if the last one is possible) - IOW: The options are endless and any notion that Indian choices were limited is a lie.
We should have negotiated any such nuclear deal from a postition of strength, by being truthful to the ambitions of the Indian people and by an accurate recoginition of the other parties intent. I do not believe, the present GoI has done these.