The US has said it is in negotiations to share nuclear fuel and technology with Vietnam, but declined to say whether they were discussing allowing Hanoi to enrich uranium on its own.
“The United States and Vietnam are engaged in a so-called ... 1-2-3 negotiation that ... would involve ... civilian nuclear technology,” US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said on Thursday.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that congressional critics of the deal say the terms would undercut the more stringent demands placed on US partners in the Middle East, which had been required to renounce uranium enrichment in exchange for nuclear cooperation.
The US and the United Arab Emirates signed such a deal on Jan. 15 last year.
The UN Security Council recently launched a new round of sanctions against Iran over its contested nuclear program, especially over its refusal to freeze uranium enrichment.
However, Crowley declined to confirm or deny whether Washington and Hanoi were negotiating a deal under which Vietnam — a former Cold War foe — would enrich uranium on its own soil, saying talks were ongoing.
As a broad policy aim Crowley said “we do want to see ... fewer countries enriching uranium around the world,” as part of efforts to limit the spread of bomb-grade uranium.
“We definitely want to see the evolution of an international system where there are guaranteed sources of enriched uranium, and under appropriate international supervision,” Crowley said.
The Wall Street Journal cited US officials as saying that negotiators have given a full nuclear cooperation proposal to Vietnam, and that they have started briefing the US House of Representatives and the US Senate foreign relations committees.
China, which shares a long border with Vietnam, has not been consulted, the officials were quoted as saying.
“We have a negotiation going on between the United States and Vietnam. That does not involve China,” Crowley said.
When asked for comment on the US-Vietnam talks, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu (姜瑜) said Beijing “does not have knowledge of the relevant details.”
She reiterated China’s position that all countries have the right to the peaceful use of nuclear power, but added: “All countries should seriously fulfill their obligations to prevent [nuclear] proliferation.”
The Wall Street Journal said a deal would allow US firms like General Electric and Bechtel to sell nuclear components and reactors to Vietnam.
The US and Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding with then-US president George W Bush’s administration in 2001 to pursue cooperation on securing fissile materials and developing civilian nuclear power.
In March this year, the two sides signed a further memorandum of understanding on nuclear energy cooperation, which they called “an important moment in our bilateral relations.”
US ambassador to Vietnam Michael Michalak said at the time: “This ... is a key step in furtherance of our common non-proliferation goals, and a significant building block in the development of Vietnam’s peaceful, civilian nuclear power program.”
Vuong Huu Tan, director of the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute, told the Wall Street JournalVietnam did not plan to enrich uranium “as it is sensitive to Vietnam to do so.”
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