US tip for CBMs: N-risk centres

India and Pakistan may have made a modest start in taking ahead the process of instituting nuclear CBMs but there is hope in the US the two ...

India and Pakistan may have made a modest start in taking ahead the process of instituting nuclear CBMs but there is hope in the US the two countries will soon be looking at taking a qualitative leap by working out new bilateral communication in the form of nuclear risk reduction centres.

The idea, which stems from a similar agreement between the US and the erstwhile USSR to reduce nuclear risk, has already been a subject of detailed discussion at non-governmental levels. And, now, Washington appears to be keen on drawing the attention of India and

Pakistan to establishing such centres.

To take the idea further, a group of Indians, Pakistanis and Americans put together a draft agreement three months ago for the perusal of the two governments. The group comprises several experts, including M.K. Narayanan, who has since been appointed Special Advisor in the PMO.

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The US Nuclear Risk Reduction Centre (NRRC) has also taken a look at the recommendations and feels it should be implemented as soon as possible to meet the objectives in the MoU reached between the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan in Lahore in 1999.

Senior officials at the NRRC say the mechanism has been extremely useful for the US, even after the break up of the USSR.

Today, in an effort to maintain exchange of information on missile tests, alerts in case of an accidental incident that could lead to misinterpretation, military exercise, the NRRC has separate computer consoles for Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

Senior operations officer at the NRRC Colonel R. Hardexty said there were nearly 25,000 exchanges by the centre last year and about 40 per cent of them with Russia and other former republics of the USSR.

	Draft guidelines

			• NRRCs will complement existing communication channels like the one between the two DGMOs • Both sides will notify each others’ activities or events on its territory that may be misperceived and lead to conflict • Exchange information that both sides are obliged to pass on under existing security agreements • Seek and receive clarifications on ambiguous events in each other’s territory Story continues below this ad

‘‘It is an extremely effective confidence building measure which allows us to remain in direct touch. This prevents any misinterpretation which may be caused due to events that can just happen like accidental deviations, some mistake or error,’’ says Hardexty.

The agreement drafted by the group with the help of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies here also charts out a similar mechanism of communication. The group estimates it would cost between $10,000 and $50,000 annually to set up a dedicated cable for teletype and voice communication in South Asia.