US President George W. Bush, in a dramatic policy shift, on Monday promised India full cooperation in developing its civilian nuclear-power program without demanding that it sign a major nuclear arms control treaty.
A statement released after talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that underscored Washington's recognition of India as a rising power said that Bush would ask Congress to change US law and work with allies to adjust international rules to allow nuclear trade with India.
Washington had barred providing atomic technology to India because of New Delhi's status as a nuclear power that had refused to sign the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, which was designed to halt the spread of nuclear weapons.
But the joint statement said: "As a responsible state with advanced nuclear technology, India should acquire the same benefits and advantages as other states."
Bush would "seek agreement from Congress to adjust US laws and policies, and the US will work with friends and allies to adjust international regimes to enable full civil nuclear energy cooperation and trade with India," it said.
India, which tested a nuclear weapon in 1998, agreed to identify and separate its civilian and military nuclear programs, continue a moratorium on nuclear testing and place civilian nuclear facilities under the UN nuclear watchdog.
But these are all voluntary, not legal, commitments and India remains outside the Nuclear Nonproliferation treaty.
Proliferation experts were quick to protest. Many are concerned about the expanding US cooperation with India, saying it sets a bad example for Iran, a Non-proliferation Treaty member, and North Korea.
Some members of Congress said they would block the change.
"We cannot play favorites, breaking the rules of the non-proliferation treaty, to favor one nation at the risk of undermining critical international treaties on nuclear weapons," said Democratic Representative Ed Markey.
"The president just gave India everything it wanted. He's rewarding India despite that country's remaining outside the global NPT regime," said Joseph Cirincione of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "This is the triumph of great power politics over non-proliferation policy."
Washington is eager to improve ties with the world's largest democracy, attracted by India's technology expertise, growing commercial market and strategic importance as a counterweight to China.
The joint statement was the product of months of discussion, culminating in round-the-clock negotiations that ended at noon on Monday.
The deal nearly fell apart when Washington refused India's demand for formal recognition as a nuclear-weapons state, which would have put India on a par with the five declared nuclear states -- the US, France, China, Britain and Russia, US officials and other sources said.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)