Like the slogan "Left Right Think-Tank" this article is a jumble of opposities - not leading to clarity. I'll try to clarify.

Based on numerous correpondence (on example http://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2007/06/indian-h-bomb-development.html ) with people in or retired from the Indian nuclear weapons industry my take on this is:

1. Basically India wants to enhance its nuclear arsenal both in numbers of weapons and to make the bulk of them reliable thermonuclear (H-Bomb) weapons.

Thermonuclear will put India on the path to parity with others in the big league (US, UK, Russia, France, China and Israel).

Hence India clearly opposes disarmament of its own arsenal.

India however is interested in discussing disarmament or slower growth in the arsenals of its main oponents, Pakistan and China.

Australia can attempt to play a role in this trilateral disarmement process. Australia's chances of tangible success are low but goodwill, technical intelligence and gaining familiarity with this regional problem may be benefits for us.

2. Any notion that India can be persuaded to disarm in return for access to Australian uranium is a non-starter. India can already receive uranium from other major uranium producers or on-sellers, such as Canada and the US.

Put another way, no Indian Government is going to remove its national nuclear shield even if major powers attempt to coerce it, let alone little Australia, even if Australia has cheaper, purer uranium.

India just wants the same Australian uranium access deal enjoyed by India's closest military-economic oppoenent, China.

Australia's main policies then may be:

- permitting sale of uranium to India, and

- encouraging trilateral talks between India, Pakistan and China about disarmament or at least slower growth of their nuclear arsenals.

Peter Coates

"Australia has both the interest and credentials to pursue such an ambitious strategy."

Like a nun giving sex education?

To build a bomb you need less than 10kg of U235, or 1 ton of yellow cake (Uranium oxide) at the market price of about $80 000. On top of which India is leading the field in developing a thorium reactor for power generation, for which India has the largest natural resources. (the by product of which is uranium and plutonium.)

Aus has no chance what so ever on influencing proliferation.

The only benefit to Aus would as Plantagenet suggested would be to enable us to sell more uranium.