Ahsan Waheed
“The three contenders to replace Bush - Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama and Republican John McCain - endorsed legislation in late 2006 that would reverse three decades of American anti-proliferation policy by allowing U.S. shipments of civilian nuclear fuel to India.” So writes Foster Klug from Washington in an AP report.
The new nuclear energy pact would give India access to US nuclear technology, allowing for safeguards and inspections at its 14 civilian nuclear installations, but with the eight remaining military plants inaccessible to inspectors.
“The pact faces fierce opposition in India, where communists within Prime Minister Manmohan Singh\'s coalition continue to bar it. The next U.S. president could revive Bush\'s coveted deal if it should fail this year, but it is not clear that any of the candidates would consider it a priority” writes Kruger.
He then quotes Ashley J. Tellis, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace having said “It\'s entirely possible, for someone who doesn\'t like the agreement, to simply say, if they were to come into office:
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But India is prepared, should the nuclear energy deal with the US fall through. In mid-February this year it was reported to have reached an understanding with Russia to build 4 nuclear reactors additional to the 2 already be being constructed by the Russians. This was announced by the Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh during the visit of the Russian premier, Victor Zubkov, to New Delhi at the time.
Add to this the award of a $965 million contract for the upgrade of the MiG 29 warplanes a month earlier, after the dispute over India’s purchase of the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov had been resolved, and a true picture of the long-standing ties between the two post-Cold War allies emerges.
Russia is also in the race for India’s purchase of $12 billion worth of jet fighters, 2 billion worth of artillery, and $1 billion worth of helicopters against Western rivals. It is advantaged for having supplied 70 percent of India’s military hardware purchases in the past and this may see India tilt towards Russia again.
Even if not, there is little chance of India discarding its Russian connection, not least because of its additional energy needs are marked to be sourced from the Central Asian Republics which at present subscribe to the rules laid down by the Russia-China parented Shangahi Cooperation Organisation (SCO) -- and this is where the Indian tilt towards Russia may become telling