Controversial India-Japan N-deal

As the second spell of the Cold War threatens to break out in the wake of contesting regional and international perspectives over the control of the South China Sea, Japan has found in India a compliant ally against China. As if ongoing bilateral trade was not enough to tie them together in a strong relationship, the two signed a 'civil' nuclear cooperation deal yesterday, which on the face of it appears to be in violation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group's membership criteria. Under this 'historic' deal Japan would export to India nuclear materials, machinery and technologies related to nuclear power generation - a deal which would also help American companies join it. The deal appears to be not much different from the one the United States signed with India in 2008, and vicariously helped the recipient India to divert its indigenous produced fissile material to add to its nuclear arsenal. It is the first such deal with a country which refuses to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Being victim of an atomic strike for more nearly seven decades Japan, as a matter of policy, had not co-operated with any non-signatory of the NPT. The Fukushima nuclear power plant explosion in 2011 had also added to the Japanese inhibitions. But the dynamics of the regional situation are now changing fast. Against China, Japan needs outside support on the issue of islands in the East China Sea, and who could be more willing to render that support than the United States and India. "As India considers neighbouring China to be a security threat, signing accord has been promoted as sharing Japan's interest," says Japan's premier daily Yomiuri Shimbun. But for home consumption where anti-nuclear sentiments still prevail Prime Minister Abe has taken the position that exports of nuclear power plants to India is part of his economic growth strategy - as if Japan's exports of nuclear materials and technologies to 14 NPT signatory countries were not sufficient enough to help its economic growth and it had to cut nuclear deal with a non-signatory India. How ironic and unfortunate it is that Japan, which has traditionally adopted a tough stand on proliferation issues having been the only victim of atomic bombing during the World War II, had to make 'an ignominious exception'. "This agreement is a legal framework that India works responsibly in peaceful uses of nuclear energy and also Non-Proliferation 'regime' even though India is not a participant or signatory of NPT," Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
There is no indication that India would become a signatory of NPT anytime soon - a standpoint sustained by the United States. It carried out its first atom bomb test in 1974, triggering a nuclear arms race in South Asia. It tested again in May 1998. Will it carry out yet another nuclear test? New Delhi, however, says no as it maintains moratorium on nuclear testing. But how honest that commitment is going to be the Japanese learnt it firsthand. In discussions leading to yesterday's deal, Japan had insisted that should India go for another test it would stop cooperation, and that such an understanding should be an essential part of the proposed nuclear accord between the two countries. But India did not agree, saying if that's what Tokyo wanted then for that there should be a separate document having no tie-up with principal deal that was signed yesterday during Prime Minister Modi's two-day visit. The Japanese side has retreated from its stated position. It was later ready to make the accord only mention that 'the Japanese cooperation will be limited to peaceful purposes'. The Abe government appears to be sandwiched between the people's pristine anti-nuclear socio-political sensibilities and its vision to forge regional alliances to counter-balance China's rising preponderance in the region and beyond. Even when the Japanese media was a bit circumspect over the deal and tended to project it nuclear-cooperation specific, the Indian media was not. It had said the Modi's visit would be 'an occasion for the two leaders to have in-depth exchange bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest'. Would Prime Minister Abe like to explain the profundity of the following remark of his counterpart Modi that the latter made after signing this highly controversial deal?: "We are also united in our resolve to combat the menace of terrorism, especially cross-border terrorism."