[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 60 (Wednesday, May 13, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4817-S4818]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      NUCLEAR DETONATIONS IN INDIA

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I want to take a little time again today 
to talk about the perilous situation that we find in south Asia at this 
point in time. Once again, in complete disregard of world opinion, in 
complete disregard of peace in the region, in complete disregard of the 
concerns of its neighbors and its allies and friends, yesterday the 
nation of India once again detonated two more nuclear devices. That 
makes five in 2 days.
  What I hear around here, Mr. President, people are saying, what have 
they done? Have they lost their senses? Have they lost all concept of 
reality? Have they gone berserk? Are they completely nutty now? Those 
are the kinds of things I hear around the Chamber and around the 
Capitol--people talking about India, and what has happened to them. I 
do not believe that all Indians have gone berserk or that all Indians 
are crazy, but certainly something has happened with their Government 
to flaunt what they have done, to go ahead and not only set off three 
in 1 day, but two the next day, and also near the border of Pakistan. 
For the life of me, I cannot understand what they can possibly be 
thinking of.

  So, I am pleased that the President has announced that he will, in 
accordance with the law, invoke the full range of sanctions that are 
required under the Nuclear Policy Prevention Act of 1994. These are 
tough, and we want to make sure that the administration follows through 
on them. We have to end all foreign assistance and loans to the Nation 
of India. We must terminate all military aid and weapons transfers. We 
must oppose international foreign aid and financial assistance to the 
Nation through the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. I 
understand many of our allies have decided to join in placing these 
sanctions on India. The law requires it, and we must place the full 
measure of the law on India in this regard.
  Mr. President, I visited the south Asia region twice in the last year 
and a half. I understand the complexity of their internal politics and 
their international relations. But I must say this, that whatever 
problems there may have been before have been multiplied a thousandfold 
by what India just did.
  Again, I hope the nations in that region will exercise caution and 
restraint in light of this. Right now, India has become the pariah of 
the world community of nations, and rightfully so, for what it has 
done. It should remain a pariah for a considerable amount of time, 
until it reverses its course, until it sits down with its neighbors to 
reach peaceful solutions in that area, until India is willing to sit 
down with its neighbor, Pakistan, and solve once and for all the issue 
of Kashmir; until India is ready to sit down with its neighbor, 
Pakistan, and secure their borders; until India is willing to disavow 
putting their nuclear arsenals within their military. Until that time, 
until these things are done, India will and should remain a pariah 
among the world community of nations.
  Earlier today, our Secretary of Defense appeared before our 
Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. We discussed these developments 
in south Asia and what they mean. Will there be a nuclear arms race now 
in the region? Will Pakistan follow suit and detonate a nuclear weapons 
test in response to India? What about China? What is China going to do 
now? How about Iran? Don't forget, they have a border also. What is 
Iran going to do now that India has taken this step? So what are all 
these nations going to do?
  Secretary Cohen this morning, in open testimony, indicated that we 
may see a chain reaction of events. I think that is an apt term, 
considering the physics of nuclear fission. Just as a nuclear explosion 
is an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction, so we may see uncontrolled 
events now happen in that region. But, just like a nuclear chain 
reaction, there are things you can do to slow it down and stop it. Just 
as in a nuclear powerplant, to slow down the chain reaction, they stick 
in the graphite rods to slow down the reaction, so we need to insert 
some graphite rods into the events that just happened in south Asia.
  What I mean by that is that I believe that certain steps must be 
taken to slow down these events. First of all, as I mentioned, we must 
apply the full force and effect of law on the sanctions to India. 
Second, I believe we must meet with Pakistan at the earliest possible 
time to discuss our mutual security needs in that area of the world; to 
discuss them with Pakistan, who has been a friend and an ally going 
clear back to the establishment of Pakistan as a nation. When people 
wondered

[[Page S4818]]

what direction Pakistan would go, would they go to the Soviet Union or 
would they tilt toward the United States, Pakistan declared at that 
time they would go with the United States, they would follow the path 
of democracy and freedom and not with the Soviet Union.

  Time and time and time again, Pakistan has come to our aid, our 
assistance, whether it was overflights over the Soviet Union for 
purposes of intelligence gathering, helping us in that terrible war in 
Afghanistan. There are still over a million refugees in the country of 
Pakistan from that war that helped topple the Soviet Union. Every step 
of the way, Pakistan has been our friend and our ally. So I think we 
need to meet with them at the earliest possible time to discuss our 
mutual security interests in that area.
  Next, I hope President Clinton will, at the earliest possible time, 
indicate that he will not be visiting India this year. I know there has 
been a trip planned for the President to visit Pakistan and India this 
fall. I call upon the President to indicate now that, because of these 
events, it would not be right and proper for him to visit India but 
that it would be right and proper for him to visit Pakistan and perhaps 
other nations in that area such as Bangladesh. So, I call upon him to 
call off that visit to India to send another strong signal.
  And, third, in order to put these graphite rods back into this chain 
reaction and to slow it down, I believe we need to press ahead with the 
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, or the CTBT, that would outlaw all 
nuclear weapons tests globally. So far, 149 nations have signed the 
treaty. In fact, we thought we were going to get it all done in August 
of 1996, except one nation walked out and refused to sign it--India. 
And now we know why. Is it too late for a Comprehensive Test Ban 
Treaty? I don't believe so. In fact, I believe what has happened in 
India more than anything indicates that we have to act now in the U.S. 
Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
  We have not taken it up yet, and we should. We have signed it. It is 
now sitting before the Senate. We ought to take it up because the 
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty will help put those graphite rods back in 
that chain reaction, slowing down uncontrolled events in south Asia.
  The CTBT will not by itself eliminate the possibility of 
proliferation, but it will make it extremely difficult for nuclear 
nations, such as India, to develop sophisticated weapons that could be 
delivered by ballistic missiles.
  Again, we have India, and they set off their underground explosions. 
But, as we know, that is not the end of the line in terms of developing 
the kind of weapons that can be delivered by ballistic missiles. If we 
don't sign and if we don't urge other nations and India to sign the 
CTBT, this will not be the end of India's nuclear testing, believe me. 
They are now going to have to refine their warheads. They are going to 
have to have further testing so that they have the kind of warheads 
they can deliver with missiles and perhaps aircraft. We have to stop 
that from happening, and that is why we need the Comprehensive Test Ban 
Treaty.
  It would have been better if we had this in effect beforehand to stop 
what happened in India, but we didn't have it. We can't turn the clock 
back. We can't put the genie back in the bottle, but what we can do is 
we can push ahead now.
  Here is how I see it, Mr. President. We have to put the full force 
and effect of the law on India with all these sanctions, cut off all 
aid, military assistance and cut off all World Bank loans and IMF. In 
fact, I think we ought to withdraw our ambassador, which the President 
has done, and not send him back. Then I believe the U.S. Senate should 
ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and insist that India do so 
immediately, before we ever lift any sanctions. In that way, India may 
have a bomb, but they may not have something that they could deliver on 
the head of a missile.
  That is why I believe it is so important that we bring up the 
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and ratify it in the Senate and stop this 
madness, stop these uncontrolled events that may take place in south 
Asia unless we act right now.
  In fact, I must say, I know the occupant of the chair has spoken on 
this issue. I know he had a hearing on it today. Quite frankly, I am 
somewhat shocked that more Senators are not out here talking about what 
has happened in India in the last couple of days. I believe this is the 
biggest single danger to world peace that we have faced perhaps in the 
last 20 to 30 years, because uncontrolled events can start taking 
place.
  On the one hand, I believe we must come down with the full force and 
effect of the law on India. I believe the President should call off his 
trip there this fall. I believe we need to meet with our friends in 
Pakistan to discuss our mutual security needs in that area. On the 
other hand, we need to ratify a comprehensive test ban treaty and then 
say to India, ``If you want to rejoin the community of nations, sign, 
join, no more testing.'' Then we get other nations to sign it, and we 
will have a comprehensive test ban treaty and will stop the 
uncontrolled events that may be unfolding in south Asia.
  It is a perilous time. India cannot be excused from what it did. 
Hopefully, the community of nations can put the proper pressure on 
India to come to its senses and join the rest of the world community in 
saying, ``No; that they will never ever test nuclear weapons ever 
again.''
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.

                          ____________________