History and current state of nuclear proliferation in Asia

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Discussion
Conclusion
Reference List

Abstract

In recent years, there has been an on-going emphasis on the withdrawal and reduction of nuclear arms. This is due to the fact that nuclear weapons pose a significant threat to the world’s future security status. In this regard, there have been various agreements made with the goal of keeping countries without nuclear arms from obtaining them.

These agreements are commonly referred to as nuclear non-proliferation agreements. The nuclear arms war that has emerged in Asia, particularly in South Asia, has endangered the security of Pakistan and India.

Introduction

The following essay examines the history and current state of nuclear proliferation in Asia. This essay specifically examines why nuclear proliferation isn’t more widespread throughout Asia despite the availability of nuclear technology. Nuclear weapons pose a significant security threat to Asian countries, particularly India, Pakistan, China and Russia.

This essay focuses on India and Pakistan as an example, and examines why there has not been the widespread proliferation of nuclear weapons despite the availability of the technology. Both India and Pakistan conducted nuclear weapons tests, bringing the entire globe to its most precarious state since the beginning of the nuclear age.

India first tested its nuclear arms on May 1998, and a month later Pakistan followed suit by testing its own nuclear arms. The two governments declared to the entire world that they are capable of responding to any threats. The nuclear testing by the two states in 1998 undermined the assumptions made by non-proliferating regimes of the declining importance of nuclear weapons.

Prior to 1998, there were psychological and political barriers to nuclear testing.However, both India and Pakistan went further and tested their weapons. After the testing by both India and Pakistan, the international community did not seriously consider the need for severe sanctions, and instead imposed disciplinary actions that were unsuccessful in threatening the emerging nuclear states.

Following the nuclear tests by these countries, conflict resolution in South Asian countries took a new direction as states developed new methods of resolving conflicts and promoting peace throughout the region. Both states agreed on nuclear deterrence and this has been the main reason as to why nuclear proliferation has not been widespread throughout Asia given the availability of nuclear technology (Rajan, 2005, p.2053).

Discussion

Nuclear weapons were first introduced to the world by the United States of America, which was quickly followed by China. Other pioneering countries of nuclear technology were France, The United Kingdom and Russia. These five countries are recognized across the world as the pioneers of nuclear technology.

Nuclear weapons are usually not defined in the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty, however, the Treaty of Tlatelolco prohibited nuclear arms in the Caribbean and Latin America in 1967, defining nuclear weapons as those devices which can release nuclear energy uncontrollably and which can be used for the purposes of war.

A nuclear weapon state thus refers to a state that had released nuclear weapons prior to January 1^st, 1967 (Peimani, 2000, p.111).

In 1977, tensions between Pakistan and India escalated and for the first time, both countries regretted following such consequences as damage to the ozone layer, the death of thousands of innocent citizens and health problems as a result of radiation exposure. The main cause of the nuclear engagement between India and Pakistan was the defence of their international status.

India’s decision to go nuclear was fuelled mainly by concern over China following its military defeat by China in 1962. The history of India’s nuclear program dates back in 1950’s when the US facilitated India in developing nuclear energy. The US provided India with a nuclear reactor and also provided Indian scientists with could the opportunity to study nuclear energy at United States’ nuclear labs.

India’s push for nuclear weapons was also fuelled by China supplying Pakistan with nuclear weapons. Pakistan was at this time a traditional foe to India and India was tempted to act in order to defend its international status.

The exact number of India’s nuclear weapons is not well known though it is suggested that it owns more than 50 nuclear warheads. India’s nuclear delivery system is comprised of Prithvi and Agni missiles, each of which is capable of travelling more than 500 kilometres.

The nuclear doctrine of India is based on four main principles. The first policy is the ‘no use’ policy, which focuses on the countries pledge of not engaging in nuclear war. The second policy is the ‘deterrence policy’, which was outlined in 1999 and stated that India weapons are to be effective, reliable and outstanding, in order to deter other nations from attacking (Yadav,S, 2009, p.1).

Similar to India, Pakistan pursued nuclear programs for the sake of its international status. However, the main intention of Pakistan’s foreign policy was to protect itself from India. Pakistan has since then pursued nuclear technology with the aim of meeting its energy requirements and to enhance peace.

Pakistan’s nuclear weapon arsenal is estimated at 40, with delivery methods composed of fighter jets and missiles derived from other nations. Pakistan holds the view that its nuclear program is necessary in deterring India and thus, Pakistan should not be regarded as a potential security threat by other nations of the world (Karnad, 2008, p.112).

China acquired atomic weaponry as early as the late 1960s, making China one of the most influential nations of the world at the time. In the 1980s China began upgrading its nuclear technology, which has continued to this day.

Currently, China’s missile based systems are more sophisticated than its sea and air based-nuclear weapons. It is estimated by the United States intelligence agencies that China’s nuclear warheads now number more than twenty, with the expectation that this figure will increase by 2015.

Despite the availability of nuclear technology. The proliferation of nuclear weapons has not been widespread in Southern Asia for multiple reasons.First; there have been various treaties that have been signed in the Southern Asia region. For instance, Asian Nations have engaged in nuclear Non Proliferation Treaties with an aim of identifying their opportunities for nuclear restraint.

World law has also played an important role in controlling the spread of nuclear arms throughout Asia. Different nations have joined together to ban nuclear tests and this has proved positive as far as nuclear proliferation is concerned. The United Nations resolution of 1965 has legally banned all the nuclear arms tests.

Without this global ban on nuclear testing, there could be no meaningful nuclear weapons limitation agreement because of the coming Chinese nuclear threat i.e. Russia and other Asian countries needs to be free to deploy their anti-ballistic missile systems so as to defend themselves from the coming Chinese nuclear threat.

For example, China for instance entered into a Nuclear Test Ban which has forced it to control its nuclear proliferation. The Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Test Ban Treaty are indeed international agreements that effectively forbid countries form nuclear proliferation (Heo et.al. 2003, P.147).

The Nuclear Weapons Free Zone commonly termed as NWFZ has played an integral role in controlling the widespread proliferation of nuclear throughout Asia.NWFZ was established to abolish the proliferation of nuclear arms within a specific region. In Asia, NWFZ has enhanced security in the region by binding the states into a contractual agreement requiring no production of nuclear arms whatsoever.

NWFZ promotes and strengthens non-proliferation by providing the member states with a means of reinforcing and extending the Non-Proliferation Treaty. In addition,NWFZ guarantees the member states security by preventing the region from any external threats by ensuring that there is non-use of nuclear weapons.

NWFZs are thus a form of international agreement that helps to control the spread and proliferation of nuclear arms in Asia. NWFZ were established with the aim of meeting two objectives:

To make it hard for states to test their weapons,
to enhance confidence among member states by making them accept the Non Proliferation Treaty.

This in turn implies that nuclear proliferation in Asia is not widespread despite the availability of nuclear technology in the region (Wolfson, 1993, p.429).

The United States has also been a major influence in limiting the spread of nuclear weapons throughout Asia despite the availability of nuclear technology. The nuclear rivalry among the Southern Asian countries seems to be unending and so, the United States has intervened so as to control nuclear proliferation and hence avoid conflict across Asia.

Over the past two decades, the United States policy towards South Asian countries particularly India and Pakistan has focused mainly on non-proliferation. The nuclear tests by India in 1974 made the United States to believe that the entire world was on the brink of a rapid nuclear proliferation. Jimmy Carter who was then the United States President made nuclear non-proliferation the main focus of the United States’ foreign policy.

South Asia thus became the target of the United States non-proliferation legislation. The United States has relied on economic sanctions as well as technology embargoes as the main tools of non-proliferation. The United States has implemented a nuclear cooperation contract with most Southern Asian countries, among them India and Pakistan, which has played a key role in containing nuclear proliferation throughout Asia.

The strategy between the United States and India in particular has enhanced the strategic partnership between the two countries. This strategic partnership between India and the United States is reinforced by economic and political interests between the two states.

Both countries are good trading partners with India providing the United States with a major outlet to export its products, while the United States provides India with new technology to enhance its production. India which is among the top 20 nations in the United States-led proliferation plan.

However, it is worth noting that India is not a member of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, and in order to control the spread of nuclear weapons the United States must plead with India to refrain from transferring its nuclear technology to other nations.

India has emerged as one of the fastest growing economy in the larger Southeast Asia and thus, it is a key nation as far as peace in Asia is concerned. Since peaceful coexistence among states is a key priority of the United States, the US provides India with economic aid to persuade India to use its nuclear weapons in a civil way (Einstein et.al, 1978, p.51).

The United States also holds major concerns about China and believes that backing India will help create a partnership to control the emerging power of China in the region. Both India and the United States signed a long term military contract in 2006 with the aim of controlling the spread of nuclear weapons in Asia.

In this agreement, the United States believes that it can control Asian affairs if both China and India compete in a level playing field. In its efforts to control the nuclear proliferation throughout Asia, The United States has maintained strong relationships with the two nations while ensuring that the two states maintain a balance of power.

China is developing at a faster rate than India, implying that it will continue to become more and more powerful with time. In response the United States has provided India with increasing support to create balance, but also being cautious to maintain a good relationship with China.

The fact that both the United States and India share general democratic values is also an important factor in controlling the proliferation of nuclear weapons in Asia.The rise of China has played a significant role in the formation and strength of the strategic partnership between US and India. This has enabled the control the proliferation of nuclear throughout Asia (Einstein et.al, 1980, P.51)

In contrast, the United States has not engaged in a nuclear deal with Pakistan and many scholars among them Peimani (2000) has expressed fears that the United States preferential treatment towards India could heighten tensions in Asia.

Pakistan is in fact worried that this favoritism will provide India with an opportunity to roll back its nuclear program and in turn decrease the relative power of its own weapons and their effectiveness as deterrents. However, both India and Pakistan are aware of the dangers of nuclear weapons and they have vowed to deal more cautiously with one another to avoid nuclear proliferation as much as possible.

The United States is already cautious of Pakistan and indeed has recognized Pakistan as a potential proliferation risk. This is due to the fact that the relationship between United States and India could cause Pakistan to seek nuclear deals with other nations like China.

Pakistan is well known for trading nuclear technology and the United States considers it a high priority as far as the nonweaponization and nondeployment efforts are concerned throughout Asia. For its part, Pakistan has passed nuclear laws that prohibit the trading of nuclear technology and compliance measures that have been put into place to avoid nuclear proliferation throughout Asia.

Pakistan is also targeting the intermediaries that are used in trading nuclear technologies (Manhattan Project Scientists, 1978, p.51). The Pakistani Government has also established nuclear campaigns aimed at combating illicit trade and prosecuting anyone who is found guilty of selling nuclear technology through black markets.

Since A.Q Kahn shocked the entire world by trading nuclear technology on the black market Pakistan has devised measures aimed at reforming its nuclear export laws.

A bill was passed in 2004 by the government which provided that anyone who violates the nuclear exports laws could face a jail term of 14 years in addition to a fine. This has played an important role of controlling the widespread proliferation of nuclear weapons throughout Asia despite the high availability of nuclear technology in the region (Frederking, B, 2007, p.112).

In recent years, a more integrated framework has been used to ensure that there is stability and peace throughout Asia, and which has played an important role of controlling nuclear proliferation in Asia. The Southern Asian countries have devised a new framework of promoting peace and security by encouraging non-proliferation amongst themselves.

A clear understanding of the nuclear status of South Asian countries, especially India and Pakistan, has played a key role in controlling the nuclear proliferation across Asian countries. Some of the proposed measures that have been taken in account to control nuclear proliferation throughout Asia include developing a multilingual arms control to help alleviate tensions as well as preventing incidences of war.

The measures that Asian countries have undertaken in response to this framework include dialogue and also agreements to refrain from attacking another country’s nuclear facilities. The international community has also provided Asian countries, particularly India and Pakistan, with assistance aimed at ensuring that there is minimal if any nuclear proliferation in the larger Asia (Arnett, 1998, p.1).

The second framework that has been put into place by Asian countries in an effort to control nuclear proliferation is signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as well as being involved in disarmament agreements. This has greatly facilitated the control efforts of nuclear proliferation in Asia.

A large number of Asian countries have agreed to conform to the non-proliferation agreement and this is a positive step towards ensuring that there is no proliferation of nuclear weapons across Asia.

Another measure that has seen a low proliferation of nuclear weapons throughout Asia is the move towards slowing and regulating weaponization.The. Asian countries have also gone further to regulate the manner in which they deploy their nuclear armed missiles. The main reason behind this framework is to halt the missile deployment process altogether.

As an incentive, the international community and the US in particular have promised to offer Asian countries with security assurances if they fully implement this policy.

This has been viewed positively by the Asian countries, especially India and Pakistan, as it will enhance peace and stability in the region.both India and Pakistan has designed and tested their weapons in an effort to ensure that stability is achieved in the region (Einstein et.al, 1980, p.54).

Various organizations have been established in both India and Pakistan with the responsibility of controlling nuclear proliferation in the region.India’s Defence and Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has been vested with the role of controlling nuclear capability in India.

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) is the organization that is vested with the role of overall supervision of nuclear capability in Pakistan. This has in turn led to low spread of nuclear weapons across Asia.

Dialogue between the conflicting nations has also lead to a low spread and proliferation of nuclear weapons in Asia. Dialogue has enabled Asian nations to address their issues; For example, in Kashmir, the contentious issues have been well addressed and this has caused a low proliferation of nuclear weapons across Asia.

The United States has also encouraged the nuclear status quo among the Asian countries such as Pakistan and India, enabling them to retain their nuclear arms options while also reducing nuclear proliferation (Einstein, et.al, 1980, p.54).

The extra-regional aspects have also played an important role in changing nuclear policies throughout Asia by ensuring that there is a global consensus on reducing nuclear proliferation. The United States is the most prevalent external factor, creating international consensus aimed at ensuring that Asian countries, particularly India and Pakistan, change their behaviours with regards to nuclear proliferation (Lyon, 2008, p.32).

Conclusion

The proliferation of nuclear arms throughout Asia hasn’t been widespread despite the availability of nuclear technology. Nuclear proliferation is a grave security concern which should be carefully and fully addressed. Nuclear proliferation throughout Asia cannot be treated with isolation; rather, this issue requires global attention and must be addressed by all nations.

Given the severity of the situation there is an urgent need to engage in negotiation processes to address security concerns as well as ensuring that nuclear proliferation within Asia is controlled. The international community, and particularly the US, has been in the forefront of preventing the widespread proliferation of nuclear weapons.

The United States has played an important role of ensuring that nuclear proliferation is not widespread throughout Asia by creating a balance of power and thus avoiding conflict within Asia. The deterrence policies among the Asian countries have also enhanced the reduction of nuclear proliferation throughout Asia.

The Asian nations have engaged in various nuclear Non Proliferation Treaties with the aim of identifying strategies to move forward, and this in turn has controlled nuclear proliferation in the region. In recent years, there has been a more integrated framework aimed at ensuring that there is stability and peace throughout Asia, and this has played an important role of controlling nuclear proliferation in Asia.

Dialogue between the conflicting nations has also lead to a low spread of nuclear proliferation throughout Asia. Thus, the proliferation of nuclear weapons has not been as widespread as could be expected given the availability of technology.

Reference List

Arnett, E. (1998). Nuclear weapons and arms control in South Asia after the test ban. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Einstein, An et.al. (1978).Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Vol. 34, No. 8: Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc.

Einstein, An et.al. (1980).Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Vol. 36, No. 5: Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc.

Frederking, B, B, B. (2007). States and the Security Council: collective security since the Cold War. London: Routledge.

Heo, U et.al. (2003).Conflict in Asia: Korea, China-Taiwan, and India-Pakistan. London: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Karnad, B, B. (2008).India’s nuclear policy. California: ABC-CLIO.

Lyon. (2008).Conflict between India and Pakistan: an encyclopedia. California: ABC- CLIO.

Peimani, H. (2000).Nuclear proliferation in the Indian subcontinent: the self-exhausting “superpowers” and emerging alliances. London: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Rajan, J. (2005). Nuclear deterrence in Southern Asia: China, India, and Pakistan. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.

Wolfson, R. (1993).Nuclear choices: a citizen’s guide to nuclear technology. Cambridge: IT Press.

Yadav, S, S. (2009).Nuclear weapons and national security: emerging challenges for Asia: Global Vision Publishing Ho.

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