    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [May 16, 1998]
    [Pages 768-769]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    May 16, 1998

        Good morning. This week I want to speak to you about a matter of
    grave concern to the United States and the international community:
    India's nuclear test explosions. These tests were unjustified and
    threaten to spark a dangerous nuclear arms race in Asia. As a result,
    and in accordance with our laws, I have imposed serious sanctions
    against India, including an end to our economic assistance, military
    financing, and credit or loan guarantees.
        I'm at the G-8 summit of the major industrial powers in Birmingham,
    England, where the major nations here, along with friends and allies

    [[Page 769]]

    around the world, have joined us in condemning India's actions
        This is especially disappointing to me because I have long supported
    stronger ties between the United States and India. After all, India will
    soon be the world's most populous country. Already it has the world's
    largest middle class and 50 years of vibrant democracy to its credit.
    And America has been immeasurably enriched by the contributions of
    Indian-Americans who work hard, believe in education, and have really
    been good citizens.
        For all these reasons, the United States and India should be close
    friends and partners for the 21st century. And they make it all the more
    unfortunate that India has pursued this course at a time when most
    nations are working hard to leave the terror of the nuclear age behind.
    So in this instance, India is on the wrong side of history.
        Over the past few years, we've made remarkable progress in reducing
    nuclear arsenals around the world and combating the spread of nuclear
    weapons. Building on the work of the Reagan and Bush administrations, we
    entered that START I treaty into force, lowering both Russian and
    American nuclear arsenals. And we ratified START II to go further. Now,
    when Russia's Parliament approves START II, we'll be on course to cut
    American and Russian nuclear arsenals by two-thirds from their cold war
    height.
        We also worked with Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan to return to
    Russia the nuclear weapons left on their land when the Soviet Union
    broke apart. We extended indefinitely and unconditionally the Non-
    Proliferation Treaty, which makes it harder for states that do not now
    possess nuclear weapons to acquire them. And just last month, working
    with the United Kingdom and the Republic of Georgia, we helped to secure
    a small amount of bomb-grade uranium in the Republic of Georgia that
    could have posed a serious danger if it had fallen into the wrong hands.
        Two years ago I was proud to be the first national leader to sign
    the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, first proposed by President
    Eisenhower, advanced by President Kennedy, and brought to conclusion by
    my administration working with almost 60 other nations. This treaty,
    called the CTBT, bans all nuclear explosions, thus making it more
    difficult for the nuclear states to produce more advanced and dangerous
    weapons and much harder for nonnuclear states to develop them in the
    first place. Already, 149 other nations have signed on.
        The CTBT also strengthens our ability to detect and deter nuclear
    testing by other countries. That's a mission we must pursue, with or
    without this treaty, as India's actions so clearly remind us. The CTBT's
    global network of sensors and the short-notice on-site inspections it
    allows will improve our ability to monitor and discourage countries from
    cheating.
        I submitted the treaty to the Senate last fall. Now it's all the
    more important that the Senate act quickly, this year, so that we can
    increase the pressure on and isolation of other nations that may be
    considering their own nuclear test explosions.
        The Indian Government has put itself at odds with the international
    community over these nuclear tests. I hope India will reverse course
    from the dangerous path it has chosen by signing the CTBT immediately
    and without conditions. And India's neighbors can set a strong example
    of responsibility for the world by not yielding to the pressure to
    follow India's example and conduct their own nuclear tests. I hope they
    won't do that.
        We have an opportunity to leave behind the darkest moments of the
    20th century and embrace the most brilliant possibilities of the 21st.
    To do it, we must walk away from nuclear weapons, not toward them. Let
    us renew our determination to end the era of nuclear testing once and
    for all.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 11:20 p.m. on May 15 at the Swallow
    Hotel in Birmingham, United Kingdom, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on May
    16.