‘What India does with its uranium is a question for it to decide’: Australia on nuclear deal

Australian Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy has said that it is up to India to decide how it uses its own uranium.

Conroy said Australia is only concerned about the uranium it sells to India and the government is satisfied with the bilateral safeguards that ensure Australian uranium is used solely for civilian purposes.

In an interview with Australia's ABC News, Conroy was asked about the possibility of Australian uranium sold to India being used in the country's nuclear weapons' programme.

"What India does with its uranium is a question for them. Obviously, we call for nuclear non-proliferation. We call for a world where nuclear weapons are not used and are safeguarded. Ultimately, we're responsible for our uranium and we're very confident that it will be used for peaceful energy production. And that's what we're responsible for and we're taking care of those as good international citizens," said Conroy.

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The remarks come days after India and Australia announced a deal for the export of Australian export to India for energy production. They did disclose the volume, value, or timeline for the supplies.

Australia has a stated policy of never possessing, manufacturing, or acquiring nuclear weapons. But it has civilian nuclear programme and depends on American and British nuclear umbrellas for strategic deterrence.

Conroy further said that the kind of safeguards that have gone into the deal with India enjoy bipartisan approval in the country.

"Governments of both persuasions have been working towards putting in place safeguards so that we are confident that the uranium will only be used for their domestic energy production. We're satisfied that the systems are in place for that and that's why we've been in a position to reach the agreement," said Conroy.

Experts point out that it is a universal practice among nuclear-armed countries to use their own uranium reserves for weapons and import uranium from for civilian purposes. They say the idea behind such an approach is that cross-border trade of uranium is highly regulated and most of the countries explicitly bar uranium export for military purposes and build safeguards, including monitoring of transport and usage, to ensure compliance.