Is the Indian governments nuclear weapons program primarily aimed at Pakistan or China?
Primarily Pakistan. The two nuclear rivals routinely face off. Most notably they did tit-for-tat nuclear weapons tests in 1998. China does loom large on India’s security screen though, and the impetus for India developing nuclear weapons in the first place was the existence of a nuclear-armed China. Why has India refused to sign the NPT in the past? India sees the NPT as an infringement on its sovereign rights, especially in relation to a ban on weapons tests and development. It sees the NPT as an instrument that is overly weighted in favour of the five declared nuclear weapons states-China, Russia, UK, USA and France. Kevin Rudd has said the sale shouldn’t go ahead. How do you explain Labor’s contradictory policy on expanding the uranium industry? ACF welcomes the ALP position on uranium sales to India but is highly critical of Labor’s wider uranium positioning. We joined with other anti-nuclear and environment groups, civil society organisations and trade unions to make a strong case
