§ 4. Mr. Robin F. Cookasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the USSR and the USA on a comprehensive underground nuclear test ban, in the light of the recent agreement on a threshold ban only.
Mr. James CallaghanThe treaty signed in Moscow by the United States and the Soviet Union makes clear that the new agreement is a step towards the goal of a comprehensive test ban which both parties have reaffirmed their determination to pursue. The United States and the USSR know that we share that aim.
§ Mr. CookIs my right hon. Friend aware that there is some urgency in this matter, and no room for complacency about the present agreement? Is he aware that the trend in both major Powers is towards more accurate and smaller warheads, and that they would be unlikely to exceed the threshold set for 1976? Is he further aware that since the last partial test ban treaty there have been more tests every year than in the years before it, and therefore will he accept that only a total ban will stop the development of further generations of nuclear weapons? Will he take a British initiative to secure that?
Mr. CallaghanThat is the objective of what I said in my original answer, namely, that we believe—and I understand that the United States and the 422 USSR share this view—that there is a need for a comprehensive test ban. One of the things standing in the way of that at present is the difficulty of proper international verification. There could be national, but not international, verification, and people would not feel utterly secure until international verification of such tests was possible.
§ Mr. Teddy TaylorIs the right hon. Gentleman aware of the concern felt by neighbours of India, following the explosion by that country of a nuclear device? Will he arrange for representations to be made by the Government to India that that kind of nuclear explosion, constituting an extension of the nuclear club, causes a great deal of unrest within the Indian sub-continent?
Mr. CallaghanThe House knows that we were seriously concerned lest the Indian tests should have the effect of undermining the non-proliferation treaty. That has been made clear. When the treaty comes up for review again next year it will be for all of us to examine how we can avoid the spread of nuclear weapons which, although they have passed out of public consciousness for the time being, nevertheless present a most terrible threat to the peoples of the world.
Mr. CallaghanOur position was made clear by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State at the CCD conference recently.
§ Mr. ChurchillWhen the right hon. Gentleman next meets Mr. Gromyko and the United States Secretary of State, will he register the disappointment of the British people that at their recent meeting President Nixon and Mr. Brezhnev were unable to make progress on an effective agreement to control the deployment of strategic weapons systems, which gravely imperils the future security of all peoples in the world? Will the right hon. Gentleman be prepared to consider an initiative in that direction?
Mr. CallaghanI shall obviously be willing to consider that, but from my conversations with Dr. Kissinger—I have not had the good fortune to meet Mr. 423 Gromyko recently—I have no doubt that he is aware of the seriousness of the situation and that he will be working, as I am sure the Soviet Union will be working, to reach agreement on this matter. Both sides know that we shall be happy to take our share in it, but they have the major responsibility.