Vol. 470 No. 4
62 Mr. R. Burke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the Government's position regarding the alleged sale of nuclear weapons-related equipment from China to Pakistan; and whether the Government will continue to support the admission of China to the World Trade Organisation under such circumstances. [19085/96]
I am aware of media reports about an alleged sale of nuclear weapons-related equipment by China to Pakistan.
As stated in the White Paper on Foreign Policy, the fundamental objective of nuclear nonproliferation is to ensure that those who possess nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons technology do not pass on such weapons or such technology to non-nuclear weapons countries. If any sale of prohibited nuclear weapons technology by a nuclear weapons state to a non-nuclear weapons state were to be confirmed, the Government would naturally be extremely concerned and would pursue its concerns actively.
A key issue in this case is whether the alleged sale, if confirmed, would place China in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This would be a matter of very serious concern. All five acknowledged nuclear weapons states are parties to the NPT and none has been found to be in breach of its non-proliferation obligations under the treaty. The House will be aware that a formal finding of non-compliance with the treaty has been made in the case of one state party only, Iraq, which as a non-nuclear weapons state party to the NPT was nevertheless found to have pursued a nuclear weapons programme.
All states parties to the NPT, especially the nuclear weapons states, have an obligation to exercise particular care in supplying any nuclear technology to a country such as Pakistan which is not party to the NPT and whose nuclear installations are therefore not under international Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. Adherence to the export control guidelines of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is an important means of demonstrating a practical commitment to the full discharge of this obligation. All the nuclear weapons states, except China, are members of NSG (as are all EU member states, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, other OECD states and a number of other countries such as Argentina, Brazil and the Republic of Korea). The NSG attaches considerable importance to developing a constructive relationship with China on export controls and to encourage China to adhere to the guidelines.
I have no evidence at my disposal that China has sold prohibited nuclear technology to Pakistan and that both China and Pakistan have denied that any illegal transfer has taken place.
As I indicated to the Deputy in my reply to another question on 15 October, Ireland and its EU partners support China's membership of the WTO in the context of the restructuring of China's economy. WTO membership will consolidate China's economic reform process, include further reforms, and integrate China into the world economy.
