27 October 2006
International Counterproliferation Cooperation Remains Vital
Proliferation Security Initiative activities attract international interest
Washington -- North Korea’s October 9 nuclear test sent reverberations throughout the international community and sparked heightened interest in counterproliferation measures.
Pyongyang’s test, followed by the threat of a second one, and North Korea’s propensity for selling weapons and technology to the highest bidder on the black market have focused attention on the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI).
PSI is a voluntary group of partner nations working together to halt the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems and related materials to and from states and nonstate agents that raise proliferation concerns. Nearly 80 nations have expressed support for the initiative, which has been growing in popularity since its launch.
President Bush proposed PSI in Krakow, Poland, in 2003 in response to growing concerns that potential traffickers of weapons of mass destruction were trying to sidestep export controls and other enforcement measures to ply their proliferation trade. Bush calls it “a very strong initiative to prevent proliferation.” Partners have met at various venues since the initiative was announced, and met again in June in Warsaw at Poland’s invitation to share their experiences. (See related article.)
Any nation interested in being part of the effort must accept the PSI’s statement of principles and decide to what extent it wishes to be involved in activities such as exercises or interdiction operation. (See related article.)
Involvement depends on a nation’s circumstances and capabilities. Some nations, for example, attend exercises or Operational Expert Group meetings as observers only. Canada will host the next experts-level meeting in December. (See related article.)
INTELLIGENCE SHARING, JOINT TRAINING EXERCISES ARE KEY ACTIVITIES
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said there is great concern that North Korea might try to make an illicit weapons transfer “to either another state, or, perhaps, even more alarmingly, to a non-state actor: a terrorist.” But she also has pointed to the effective intelligence sharing already under way as part of PSI, indicating that it could be used to interdict any dangerous cargo that North Korea might be trying to transfer.
Even before Pyongyang’s test, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld singled out North Korea as “a known proliferator of weapons technology,” warning that any number of proliferators may traffic by air, land or sea.
With attention focused on Northeast Asia, Japan has been involved fully in PSI. During her trip to Tokyo October 19, Rice said intensive consultations were under way in the region “on how to have a robust, effective means by which to give scrutiny to North Korean cargo.”
Countries such as South Korea have been approached about expanding cooperation or participation in PSI activities. With respect to China, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said October 13 that the Chinese “will make their own decisions about what kind of relationship they want” to have with PSI.
Rice said important PSI activities, including air, ground and maritime training exercises, have been conducted since cooperation was initiated. Turkey, for example, hosted a PSI exercise, “Anatolia Sun,” in May. Central Asia and Gulf nations participated for the first time, working to develop capabilities to interdict shipments of concern.
The United States will host the 25th PSI interdiction training exercise, “Leading Edge” October 30 and October 31. Other nations that have hosted or led exercises, simulations or meetings include Australia, France, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Germany, Canada and Italy.
PSI RELIES ON, COMPLIES WITH, EXISTING LAW
All PSI efforts are carried out according to the national laws of participating countries and international legal authority. As an example, maritime interdictions within a PSI nation’s seaport are subject to local laws.
Rice says PSI relies on legal authorities that nations already have “to make certain that there is not trade in dangerous weapons or weapons materials.” She says there has been some misunderstanding about the initiative. “It isn’t just sort of constant random inspections of ships.”
A series of ship-boarding agreements have been concluded as part of the initiative that make it easier for PSI partner nations to board and inspect suspicious vessels. The United States, for example, has signed reciprocal agreements with Croatia, Liberia, Panama and the Marshall Islands. (See related article.)
There also has been outreach to representatives of the shipping industry on the subject of PSI cooperation. For example, the Pentagon sent its nonproliferation policy director, David Cooper, to a workshop in London in September to learn how governments and representatives of the maritime industry “can intercept WMD-related shipments” without disrupting the legitimate flow of cargo. An air cargo industry workshop was held in Los Angeles in September 2005, and a maritime workshop in Denmark in August 2004. (See related article.)
The message to industry is that interdiction efforts will be initiated only where reliable intelligence suggests a shipment is destined for a state or nonstate entity of proliferation concern. Legitimate dual-use commerce rarely will be affected.
U.S. officials have said that the initiative has transformed the way countries harness diplomatic, military, law enforcement and intelligence assets to disrupt proliferation networks. Rice said October 19 in South Korea that PSI has been effective and nonconfrontational. (See related article.)
In her 2005 remarks on the second anniversary of the initiative, Rice said the quiet international cooperation of PSI partners led to around a dozen successful efforts to halt the transshipment of materials and equipment intended for ballistic missile programs in countries of concern, including Iran. (See related article.)
PSI partners continue to encourage all nations to participate actively in combating a global proliferation problem. As Rice said: “The dangerous trade in weapons of mass destruction can only be stopped trough coordinated and continued efforts by the international community.”
Additional information about the initiative and other counterproliferation efforts is available on the State Department Web site, as is the full text of the PSI Statement of Principles.
For more information, see Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and Response to Terrorism.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
