I have been committed for decades to working towards banning the bomb. My goal, and Britain's goal, is global nuclear disarmament. But I am also a practical politician. I recognise that we have to start from where we are now. If I could, I wouldn't choose to start from here to get to a non-nuclear world. But none of us have that choice. So Britain wants to work with other countries which, like India, share our commitment to global nuclear disarmament to see how we can get closer to that goal. Progress towards it would do more for our security and our children's security than almost anything else. Since the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, Britain has reduced its number of nuclear warheads by some 50 per cent. We now have only one nuclear delivery system. At any one time we have only one submarine on deterrent patrol. That submarine is at a reduced state of readiness and alert. When we are satisfied with verifiable progress towards our goal of the global elimination of nuclear weapons, British nuclear weapons will be included in disarmament negotiations. We also recognise the importance of increasing transparency about holdings of nuclear weapons and fissile material under international safeguards arrangements. We have begun to develop a pool of expertise at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (Aldermaston) about the problems involved in verifying the reduction and elimination of nuclear weapons. Verification will be an essential element in achieving nuclear disarmament. There has been significant other progress towards the goal of nuclear disarmament. The reductions required by the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) are being successfully implemented. START II promises still more US and Russian reductions, as does the prospect of START III. France, like Britain, has made substantial reductions in its strategic nuclear forces. And at the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in May this year, with Britain in the lead under my direction all five nuclear weapon states (NWS) reiterated their commitment to nuclear disarmament. This unequivocal commitment by the five nuclear weapon states (United States, Britain, Russia, France and China) represents the most explicit pledge they have ever made to work for complete nuclear disarmament. In addition, the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference as a whole agreed on practical steps that will be important to achieving this goal. But there is more that the international community needs to do. We need to keep trying to stop things getting worse. This means ending nuclear explosions and ending the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. Britain has not carried out any nuclear explosion since 1991, and we announced in 1995 that we had stopped producing fissile material for explosive purposes. We have also signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and we are pressing for an immediate start to the negotiation of a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty are important steps on the road to nuclear disarmament. But a lot more is needed. We need to encourage all countries which have not yet signed up to or ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to do so. There is an increasing number of countries with nuclear capability or ambitions. Whilst welcoming India's moratorium on nuclear testing, it is important for regional stability as well as for the wider goal of disarmament that both India and Pakistan make progress in signing and ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty soon. What can India and Britain do together? We will be delighted when India moves forward from its current position to signing and ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. And we are pleased that India supports the earliest possible start of Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty negotiations in Geneva. I believe India and Britain should now work together to persuade other countries to start work on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty, without linkage to work in the Conference on Disarmament on other topics. Britain shares other arms control objectives with India. On constraining the use of anti-personnel landmines, and cutting the proliferation of small arms. On implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention, which India, like Britain, has signed and ratified. On developing a Protocol to strengthen the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. On developing a new international approach to curbing missile proliferation. On sharing experience with confidence and security building measures to avoid conflict and increase trust. There is a lot to do. And a lot which Britain and India can do together. As India's External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh said, ``nuclear disarmament cannot be achieved overnight: it will be a step-by-step process''. I hope that India and Britain can make some of these steps together, and encourage other countries to follow in our footsteps. We should be partners for peace and security together.òf40óThe writer is Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. He will be on a four-day visit to India from November 18. He wrote this exclusively for The Indian ExpressWhat can India and Britain do together? We will be delighted when India moves forward from its current position to signing and ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
