The Breach

The Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons seeks to prevent the spread of such weapons and ultimately achieve global nuclear disarmament. Only a handful of states have not ratified the treaty, among them historical rivals Pakistan and India, which amassed nuclear arsenals after the international binding agreement came into force. In 2006, a plan was announced allowing the US to sell civilian nuclear technology to India, and now China follows suit, moving to sell two nuclear reactors to Pakistan. China is home to 60 percent of the nuclear reactors currently under construction. The US – relying on China to slow North Korean and Iranian nuclear ambitions and on Pakistan as an ally in fighting extremism in Afghanistan – may have little choice but to approve. To assuage critics of the US-India and China-Pakistan deals, argues Mark Hibbs in Foreign Policy, the US, China and other countries should push hard for significant contributions to nonproliferation. – YaleGlobal