The Nuclear Security Summit was first held in 2010 with the goal of raising awareness about the need to tighten control of nuclear material. The agenda of the Nuclear Security Summit in 2014 is to work towards the establishment of tight controls over nuclear materials, seek greater transparency on national measures to enhance nuclear security, ask more countries to join international agreements on the physical protection of nuclear material, reduce the use of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium in national nuclear programmes and strengthen the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Sameer Patil, Associate National Security Fellow at Gateway House, comments on India’s role at the Nuclear Security Summit and what can be gained from it.
The most important gain from the Nuclear Security Summit in the past has been the global attention that it has brought to the issue of nuclear terrorism. Nuclear terrorism is a big concern for the U.S and the West for two main reasons: the fear that nuclear weapons can fall into the wrong hands, and the understanding that Al Qaida and other terror groups have been trying to acquire Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) capabilities.
In 2013 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the global nuclear watchdog, claimed that over a hundred incidents every year are reported to the IAEA on the theft of nuclear material. The chance of a nuclear terrorism event occurring is very low, but if such an event were to take place the consequences would be disastrous.
India has an exemplary record in the protection of nuclear material. India has been party to two important agreements in this regard – the International Convention on the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, a UN treaty which criminalizes acts of nuclear terrorism, and the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material which legally binds the state to protect its nuclear material. India has also strenuously implemented the UN Security Council Resolution 1540, which is concerned with preventing traffic of radioactive and other nuclear material. Additionally, last year India contributed US$1 million to the strengthening of the IAEA. Under the Container Security Initiative, which looks at suspicious cargo traffic of WMD related material, India has made Mumbai’s Nhava Sheva port a CSI outland port.
However, despite an exemplary nuclear security record, India is situated in a dangerous neighbourhood, next to a country which is notorious for providing a safe haven for terror, and has a grave history of nuclear proliferation. This has now translated into an enhanced threat for us, as is evident the arrest of Yasin Bhatkal, an Indian Mujahideen operative, last year. He spoke about the fact that his group in Pakistan was looking for access to nuclear material for carrying out an attack on the city of Surat, Gujarat.
While access to such fissile material may be hard to come by, the increasing radicalisation of Pakistani society and the support that some of these groups receive from the security establishment, India should proactively work to prevent such a possibility. Therefore, India should seize the opportunity provided by the Nuclear Security Summit at the Hague to highlight concerns on Pakistan and raise awareness about nuclear terrorism. India should also be pressing for the universalisation of the International Convention on Nuclear Terrorism and ask more countries, including Pakistan, to join the convention. India should be crystal clear that states should not extend any support to non-state actors seeking WMDs.
Domestically, India needs to constantly review its safety measures and protocols, particularly as private sector companies enter the nuclear field. Therefore, the government should join hands with private players to evolve the security protocol. Secondly, the next elected parliament should also expedite clearing the passage for the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill which will replace the Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority.
Having said that, India should not lose sight of the goal of nuclear disarmament, because that would be the most foolproof measure to prevent and eliminate any possibility of nuclear terrorism.