REQUEST FOR GUIDANCE: INDIA AND PROLIFERATION

S E C R E T NEW DELHI 003458

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2015
TAGS: PREL ETTC KNNP UK IN NSSP
SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR GUIDANCE: INDIA AND PROLIFERATION
SECURITY

REF: A. NEW DELHI 3334


B. IIR 6 844 0339 05

Classified By: Charge Robert O. Blake for Reasons 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) In the run-up to Defense Minister Mukherjee's planned
June 27 arrival in Washington, Mission continues to be
approached by senior GOI officials inquiring about US
deliberations on India's admission to the PSI core group. In
this context, MEA officials cite the April 15 discussion
between the Secretary and Foreign Minister Natwar Singh,
during which Natwar indicated strong GOI interest in PSI, and
flagged this as topic for the Indian Defense Minister's
upcoming visit to Washington. As reported ref A, British NSA
Nigel Sheinwald heard a similar pitch from the MEA, linked to
the GOI desire to associate itself with PSI before a planned
fall 2005 PSI exercise in the Indian Ocean. Pressed on the
need for India to declare support for the PSI Statement of
Interdiction Principles, Sheinwald's interlocutors asked
whether such a statement would lead to membership in the PSI
core group.


2. (S) As a practical matter, the GOI has already begun to
associate itself with PSI-type activities. Ref B, for
instance, describes a recent engagement in defense
intelligence channels through which the Indian Navy boarded a
vessel of interest to acquire ownership and crew-list data
sought by US agencies. Natwar Singh and other senior GOI
officials have also begun to speak publicly of the need for
new arrangements to combat the proliferation of WMD
technology.


3. (C) Action Request: Against this background, and bearing
in mind bilateral discussions going back to Secretary
Powell's March 2004 visit to New Delhi, mission requests
guidance we can use in responding to GOI queries about the
status of US deliberations on India's request for membership
in the PSI core group.

BLAKE