By Ankit Panda
The Nuclear Threat Initiative’s 2016 index does not paint a reassuring picture of nuclear materials security in South Asia.
Just how well are India and Pakistan, South Asia’s two nuclear-armed rivals, taking care of their nuclear materials? The Nuclear Threat Initiative’s (NTI) 2016 Nuclear Security Index ranks 24 countries that possess “one kilogram or more of weapons-usable nuclear materials” across a range of indicators of nuclear security–both India and Pakistan fall into this category.
The index also measures security indicators for an additional 152 countries that possess zero or less than one kilogram of fissile nuclear materials. I covered the 2014 NTI index for The Diplomat, commenting on India’s low ranking, which placed it below both China and Pakistan for nuclear materials security.
In the 2016 iteration of the index, there’s good news for India. Notably, its ranking on nuclear materials security is improved, placing it one rank ahead of Pakistan on the ranking of indicators affecting the likelihood of nuclear materials being stolen. India comes in at 21 out of 24, while Pakistan is ranked 22 (Iran and North Korea fill out the bottom of that ranking).
Both South Asian nuclear powers receive a comparable aggregate score across the relevant indicators, which include the quantities and sites where nuclear materials are stored, their security and control measures, adherence to global norms, domestic commitments and capacity, and their risk environments.
Read the full story at The Diplomat