Written answers

Tuesday, 6 July 2010

Department of Foreign Affairs

Nuclear Disarmament Initiative

10:00 am

Photo of Emmet StaggEmmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 73: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on China's proposed sale of nuclear reactors to Pakistan; the regional implications of such a sale; his position on the matter; the implications for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29651/10]

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware of China's announcement that it is planning to sell two nuclear reactors to Pakistan. This has raised concerns in the international community both in relation to undertakings by China regarding the transfer of nuclear goods, as well as potential proliferation risks associated with Pakistan. At the recent plenary meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, Ireland was among those who expressed concern and sought further information on the issue. A representative of China at the meeting explained that in recent years China has had a level of cooperation with Pakistan in civil/nuclear energy in line with the two countries' legal obligations. He assured the plenary that such cooperation was exclusively for peaceful purposes and that the facilities were subject to IAEA safeguards.

Pakistan has long been the focus of international unease related to nuclear proliferation. There are serious concerns that rogue states or terrorist organizations could obtain nuclear material or expertise from Pakistan. This concern has been heightened due to the ongoing conflict in neighbouring Afghanistan, and the porous nature of their common border. These worries have not been helped by the knowledge that a former top Pakistani nuclear official - A.Q. Khan – for many years used a clandestine network to supply Libya, North Korea, and Iran with materials related to uranium enrichment.

The proposed China-Pakistan deal underlines again the pressing need for Pakistan to adhere to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapon State. Pakistan is one of only three States not party to the Treaty. India – another key regional player - and Israel are the other two. In May this year I addressed the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty in New York and called on these three States to join the Treaty. We will continue to press for the Treaty's universality, and for these three States to place all their nuclear facilities under IAEA Full-Scope Safeguards. Only in this way can the international community have the necessary confidence that potentially deadly materials cannot be diverted for terrorist or other destructive purposes.

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