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While speaking at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in mid-June 2013, President Barack Obama of the United States once again outlined his vision for nuclear disarmament. He expressed his commitment to a “world without nuclear weapons – no matter how distant that dream might be.” Earlier, in a stirring speech at Prague in April 2009, Obama had called for strengthening the global effort to curb the spread of nuclear weapons, move forward on long-overdue disarmament measures and prevent nuclear terrorism. He had reiterated “clearly and with conviction America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.” However, his present plans fall much short of the promises made at Prague.
At Berlin, President Obama offered to work with the Russians to reduce the number of deployed nuclear warheads from 1,550 by February 2018, agreed under the New Start treaty – which had reduced these from 2,200, to about 1,000. He also said that he would seek “bold reductions” in the 500 short-range nuclear weapons that are in the US arsenal at present. However, he did not mention any thing about the approximately 11,000 nuclear warheads that the US and Russia hold in reserve. He could have also offered to remove from hair-trigger alert half to two-thirds of the warheads that are kept ready to be fried at a moment’s notice as such a move would have been a genuinely bold step and a huge confidence building measure. Obama paid lip service to the long-pending ratification of the CTBT by the US Senate and the stalled negotiations on the FMCT at Geneva – primarily due to Pakistan’s opposition.
Because of the vested interests of the five original nuclear weapons states (NWS) in seeking to retain their arsenals for the foreseeable future, progress towards total nuclear disarmament has been frustratingly slow even though their salience in military strategy has been reduced. In February 2000, while addressing the UN Advisory Board on Disarmament, then Secretary General Kofi Annan chided the NWS for their lack of commitment to nuclear disarmament and warned of a dangerous new arms race looming large on the horizon. He said “If we are to even dream of a world free of nuclear weapons by the end of the 21st century, we should start taking new and effective measures for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation right now.” However, such calls continue to go unheeded and there is little urgency in the deliberations at the Conference on Disarmament at Geneva. The only good news is that more and more and more individuals and NGOs are now coming forward and asking why nuclear weapons should not be eliminated from the face of the earth.
In January 2007, George P. Shultz, William J. Perry, Henry A. Kissinger, Sam Nunn wrote a seminal op-ed in the Wall Street Journal entitled “A World Free of Nuclear Weapons”. They recommended changing the Cold War posture of deployed nuclear weapons to reduce the danger accidental or unauthorized detonations,continuing to reduce substantially the size of nuclear forces in all states that possess them andeliminating short-range nuclear weapons designed to be forward-deployed. Since then, seven former US secretaries of state, seven former national security advisors, and five former secretaries of defense have endorsed the Shultz-Perry-Kissinger proposal to free the world of nuclear weapons. The growing list of supporters for a nuclear-free world includes 17 former cabinet members, as well as former generals, senior officials, non-proliferation scholars and politicians such as former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
India’s stand on nuclear disarmament has been consistent since the days of Jawaharlal Nehru. His successors continued to emphasise nuclear disarmament. On December 15, 1998, then Prime Minister Vajpayee had spelt out the principal elements of India’s nuclear policy in a statement in Parliament. These included, “India’s resolve to preserve its nuclear independence, minimum nuclear deterrence, no first use, non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear powers, and a firm commitment to the elimination of nuclear weapons.” Vajpayee had also reiterated India’s willingness to sign the CTBT and re-stated India’s readiness to work towards the successful conclusion of the Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty (FMCT).
At the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Durban in 1998, the NAM leaders accepted India’s proposal for an international conference to arrive at an agreement on a phased programme for the complete elimination of all nuclear weapons. At the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in September 2000, the Indian Prime Minister had asserted that India’s policy is based on “responsibility and restraint” and that India would continue to press for universal, verifiable nuclear disarmament with undiminished commitment, even while safeguarding “our strategic space and autonomy in decision-making. International peace cannot be divorced from the need for equal and legitimate security for all.”
One of the distinguishing features of India’s nuclear doctrine proposed by the NSAB in August 1999 was that it was “… anchored in India’s continued commitment to global, verifiable and non-discriminating nuclear disarmament…” that has been described as India’s national security objective. The use of nuclear weapons was considered “the gravest threat to humanity and to peace and stability in the international system.” The doctrine paper clearly pointed out India’s desire to see the world completely rid of nuclear weapons.
India’s policy should work in parallel along twin tracks: continue to enhance the quality of India’s nuclear deterrence while simultaneously working to achieve total nuclear disarmament in as early a time frame as possible. India would benefit immensely as total or universal nuclear disarmament will change the strategic equation in South Asia in India’s favour and make India an economic and military superpower to reckon with. Sooner rather than later, these individual efforts will become an unstoppable torrent and governments will be forced to sit up and take serious note of the groundswell of public opinion. The NWS will then be forced to seriously take up total nuclear disarmament – something that the Delhi Declaration of 1988 had coldly called for.
By Special Arrangement with The Centre For Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) (http://www.claws.in)