Although years have passed since India’s nuclear struggles and the interesting responses of the nuclear weapons states, the nature of the current nuclear cooperation of the United States and France with the Indian government is still unclear.

However, commenting on French President Jacques Chirac’s upcoming visit to New Delhi and the issues the two sides plan to discuss, French ambassador to India Dominique Gerard observed that the consultations could convince Indian officials to take up France’s offer to transfer its nuclear expertise to the South Asian country.

Thanks to the support of countries of the now-defunct Eastern Bloc, especially the Soviet Union and its successor state Russia, the Indian government has achieved a considerable nuclear capability over the past two decades. However, it is still far from its ultimate goal of gaining access to the most advanced nuclear technology, although New Delhi will most likely continue its endeavors until it reaches its goal.

Washington originally disapproved of India’s nuclear activities. New Delhi had actually created some concerns for Washington by refusing to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and shirking its obligations as an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) member.

In order to prevent India from going nuclear, the United States imposed some sanctions on the country, but these measures were unable to hinder India’s progress in the nuclear sphere. Currently, the U.S. and other nuclear weapons states are certain that India will make more progress in its nuclear activities. In fact, in order to speed up its nuclear development, India has offered some cooperation suggestions to the member countries of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, including the U.S.

In addition, since it will be impossible for Western countries to block India’s nuclear progress, they are trying to create a good trade market for themselves and convince India to join the group of pro-Western countries.

Western governments are determined to make use of India’s need for nuclear technology. Therefore, besides imposing the foundation of a free trade agreement on the Indian government, they also intend to impose some political prerequisites on New Delhi in order to guarantee the optimal outcome.

These prerequisites, mainly offered by Washington on July 18, 2005 during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the United States when he held negotiations on nuclear cooperation, are hidden in some of the West’s political objectives, including India’s support of the IAEA Board of Governors resolution reporting Iran to the UN Security Council and its decision not to invest in Syria’s oil sector.

Apparently, if New Delhi does not bow to the demands of the United States, France will seize the opportunity to further its own interests.

It seems that India must either jump through Washington’s hoops or trust in the mirage promises of France to gain access to advanced nuclear technology.

That is to say, India may become a pawn of the West for a time.