WEST MOVES NEARER NUCLEAR TESTING

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29744, 10 February 1962, Page 11

WEST MOVES NEARER NUCLEAR TESTING

Announcement Linked With Call For Talks

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) WASHINGTON, February 9. The United States and Britain moved closer yesterday to a resumption of nuclear tests in the atmosphere, but offered the Soviet Union one more chance to negotiate a treaty banning all tests.

The two Governments announced that Britain would make her Christmas Island testing ground available to the United States a long step toward atmospheric testing, and that Britain would conduct an underground test in Nevada within the next few weeks.

But they also said they had urged the Soviet Union to send its Foreign Minister to the Geneva disarmament conference to discuss a treaty on testing with the British and American Foreign Ministers.

The announcement, made simultaneously at the White House and by the British Prime Minister (Mr Macmillan) in the House of Commons, shaped up, according to the Associated Press, as a joint American - British strategy aimed at: (1) Probing Soviet intentions once again for an agreement on halting the arms race.

(2) Focusing world attention on the American-British disarmament effort, rather than on their preparations for a new round of nuclear testing.

(3) Quieting domestic critics, particularly in. Britain, of the new Western atomic tests.

United States authorities said that regardless of whether the Soviet Union agree to a Foreign Ministers’ meeting, President Kennedy would decide soon on security grounds whether to go ahead with atmospheric tests.

United Press International said the Kennedy-Macmillan appeal appeared to have a double goal The Allies had made clear they would do their utmost to negotiate a test ban. If such efforts failed, they could ooint to the Soviet Prime Minister <Mr Khrushchev) as the transgressor in a renewed arms race

The joint announcement said the United States and Britain believed that, because of the recent Soviet series of some 50 atmospheric tests, the West should go ahead with such further testing “as may be necessary for purely military reasons.” At the same time, the two Western Governments declared their deep concern ‘‘for the future of mankind if a halt cannot be called to the nuclear arms race" They resolved to make "a supreme effort” at the Geneva conference to “move away from this sterile contest.” “Not Inconsistent” President Kennedy made clear at his press conference on Wednesday that he saw nothing inconsistent in preparing for atmospheric tests while pressing ahead with disarmament negotiations. He said the United States must

look to the future if the Soviet Union continued to block a test ban.

Barring some progress at Geneva, the President was expected to announce soon that the United States would start atmospheric tests in April The message to Mr Khrushchev added up to a last chance for the Soviet Prime Minister before the President’s announcement, U.P I. said.

The proposal to the Soviet Union told Mr Khrushchev that “the Heads of Government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics should assume a direct and personal interest in these negotiations ”

Washington officials declined to expand on this statement, but it appeared to open up to Mr Khrushchev the possibility of a summit meeting if disarmament negotiations showed some prospect of success, A.P. said. Reaction In Commons

Mr Macmillan faced Labour shouts of “suicide” in Parliament yesterday after he announced that Britain would carry out underground testing in Nevada. During questioning, Mr Macmillan said he hoped that the proposal to raise the Geneva talks on disarmament next month to foreign minister level might make it possible to postpone further atmospheric tests. One had to wait and see how this initiative was received. If it led to any great result it could transform the whole political and military situation, he said. Stormy outbursts from the Opposition side during the questioning of Mr Macmillan seemed to suggest solid opposition to the Government’s decisions both in the Labour and the Liberal camps.

The Liberal leader (Mr Grimond) called the Government statement profoundly depressing, and the Labour Party leader (Mr Gaitskell) said he thought it would have been perfectly possible for the Prime Minister to state that atmospheric tests would not take place until after the discussions in Geneva. Leaders of the nuclear disarmament campaign in Bri-

tain announced that they were planning massive protest actions against the latest developments. Immediately Mr Macmillans statement was known nuclear disarmers started lobbying members of Parliament at Westminster. Mr Macmillan said: “We

are now satisfied that substantial technical and military benefits can be obtained by testing one particular British nuclear device underground. “While the arms race continues we dare not fall behind in the struggle between offensive and defensive capa-

r bilities, with their increas- • ingly complex systems of t counter-measures and coun-ter-counter measures.” Test by U.S. The United States yesterI day conducted an under- ■ ground nuclear test of low yield at its site in Nevada, ! United Press International

reported. The test was announced by the Atomic Energy Commission. It was the twelfth announced United States test since the United States resumed nuclear experiments after the Soviet broke a voluntary three-year test moratorium.