{
  "id": "98-570",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "98-570",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 105167,
      "date": "1998-11-24",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:48:46.569941",
      "title": "India-Pakistan Nuclear Tests and U.S. Response",
      "summary": "On May 11 and 13, 1998, India conducted a total of five underground nuclear tests, breaking a\n24-year self-imposed moratorium on nuclear testing. Pakistan followed claiming 5 tests on May 28,\n1998, and an additional test on May 30. The Indian tests, which appear to have completely\nsurprised the U.S. intelligence and policy community set off a world-wide storm of criticism.\nPresident Clinton announced, on May 13, 1998, that he was imposing economic and military\nsanctions mandated by Sec. 102 of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA.) The Administration\napplied the same sanctions to Pakistan on May 30.\n  Although the Indian government claimed concern about the \"deteriorating security [and]\n nuclear\nenvironment,\" as its reason for testing, many observers believe that domestic political factors may\nhave been responsible for at least the timing of the tests. The current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)\ngovernment is a weak coalition of 13 disparate parties, in power only since late March, 1998. Many\nanalysts judged that, by conducting nuclear tests, the BJP hoped to consolidate its power by rallying\nstrong national pro-nuclear sentiment.\n  The claimed size and type of weapons tested by India may hold significant implications for its\nfuture intentions as well as for future actions of Pakistan and China. Many experts judge that the\nfive Indian tests are unlikely to satisfy technical requirements for weapon development, while others\nthink that India may have gathered enough data to preclude the necessity for further testing. \nPakistan's tests of apparently simple fission devices appear more aimed at demonstrating the\npossession of a capability based on a weapon design that it reportedly acquired from China a decade\nor more ago. Both countries' nuclear tests appear to further complicate prospects for ratification of\nthe Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty by the U.S. Senate.\n  The U.S. response to the nuclear tests thus far has centered on the imposition of mandatory\nsanctions under the AECA and other legislation. Specific sanctions include: termination of U.S.\ndevelopment assistance; termination of U.S. Government sales of defense articles and services;\ntermination of foreign military financing; denial of credit, credit guarantees, or other financial\nassistance by the U.S. Government; opposition to loans or assistance by international financial\ninstitutions; prohibition on U.S. bank loans or credit to Indian and Pakistan; and prohibition on\nexports of \"specific goods and technology.\"\n  U.S. options are limited by the evident determination of India and Pakistan to preserve and\ndevelop nuclear weapons capabilities. Policy options include: maintaining or broadening sanctions;\nproviding the President with authority to waive current sanctions, in return for specific actions of\nrestraint by India and Pakistan; and providing momentum to the nonproliferation process by\nconcentrating on getting Pakistan to sign the CTBT first. The latter two approaches require\nlegislation.  P.L. 105-94 , signed into law on July 14, 1998, exempts for one year AECA restrictions\non financing for food and agricultural exports. In November, President Clinton eased some\neconomic sanctions using one-year waiver authority given him by the Congress in October under the\nOmnibus Appropriations Act.",
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      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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      "topics": []
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  ],
  "topics": [
    "Appropriations",
    "Asian Affairs",
    "Economic Policy",
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "National Defense",
    "South Asian Affairs"
  ]
}