[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

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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.