Islamabad, July 25: Concerned about the recent US decision to help India in peaceful uses of nuclear energy, Pakistan today said it also wants to expand cooperation with the US in the same field.

“Having its own strategic relations with the US, Pakistan would like to extend this cooperation in multiple fields, including the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and space technology,” foreign ministry spokesperson Naeem Khan said here.

During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Washington, President George W. Bush said his country would help India in the peaceful use of nuclear energy in return for Delhi’s promise to abide by international safeguards and step up efforts to combat weapons proliferation.

“The US has also made it clear that entering into cooperation with India in the nuclear arena does not amount to recognising the latter as a nuclear state,” Khan said, reiterating Islamabad’s desire for cooperation with the 44-member Nuclear Suppliers’ Group.

“We want a mutually beneficial cooperation with the NSG, which should focus on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy under the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards,” Khan said, adding that Pakistan had a substantive nuclear programme and all its nuclear power reactors were under IAEA safeguards.

A two-member NSG delegation visited Pakistan in March to discuss the country’s export control regime and efforts against nuclear proliferation. The group includes the US, Britain, China, France, Russia and other key nations.

Khan was sure the Indo-US understanding would not “have any impact on the forthcoming talks” between the neighbours on nuclear confidence-building measures, slated for August 5 and 6 in Delhi.

He added that Pakistan is monitoring how the US amends its legislation to accommodate the understanding reached between Bush and Singh.

China lips sealed

China has not officially made any comments on Singh’s meeting with Bush in Washington last week that led to the signing of the nuclear deal.

But the leadership in Beijing, which has been watching the growing closeness, perhaps with a little trepidation, has instructed policymakers to study the impact of the meeting, reports our special correspondent in New Delhi.

Sources said China has, for the time being, fallen back on its age-old dictum: “Listen to what he says but watch carefully for what he does.”

Sources said two of the pointers that could shape China’s future policy towards its neighbour could be the progress of the talks on the decades-old boundary dispute and the joint naval exercise India has lined up with the US in the region.

“If it (Delhi) tries to push it (the boundary talks) on the backburner, it may not go down very well with Beijing,” a source said, arguing that the delay would be seen as a direct fallout of the growing Indo-US ties.

As for the joint naval exercise in the Mallaca Straits and the Indian Ocean, China’s worries will increase if the two decide to go beyond and enter the South China Sea.

“The ball is in India’s court. A lot will depend on how Delhi handles its relation with the US and other major world players,” a source said.