After the passage of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal through the Senate, the US will work on China to obtain its support to the deal in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) where it is bound to raise many questions about the deal and link it to Pakistan .
Speaking at an analyst show in the US , former Deputy Secretary of State and President of influential think tank Brookings Institution Strobe Talbott said that while India no doubt deserved a special deal, China will want to know why this is country-specific. He also cautioned that other countries will cite India as an example and seek exemption. Talbott said that while India had a stellar non-proliferation record, Pakistan ’s was dismal.
Talbott also revealed the opposition
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) “did a lot of ground work” for the deal but is now politicking and criticizing the deal. The US is also worried about Indian political elements who cannot accept a positive outcome of the deal. The two nations worked together for many years to overcome the Clinton Administration benchmarks for cooperation including roll back of Indian nuclear program, Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT), and export control.
Now the US has accepted India will never roll-back its nuclear weapons program although it will not publicly view India as a nuclear weapons state. Allaying US and Russian fears, India has recently strengthened its laws to control export of dual use technologies. While India has said that it is willing to work on the FMCT, there is no movement in the use for this treaty while policy makers want everyone else to adhere to such norms. The CTBT is a dead-duck in India and the US and there is virtually no support in either nation to accept those conditions; although, India has declared a unilateral moratorium on testing. The civilian nuclear deal will die the minute India tests a nuclear device again.
