Australia assures Indonesia: 'We've no nuke plans' - Yahoo! News

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia assured neighbouring Indonesia that it was not promoting an arms race by considering whether to enrich uranium which can be used in nuclear weapons.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer pledged that if Australia produced enriched uranium in the future, it would never be used in a nuclear arsenal.
"I would have thought that international security would be better served by enriched uranium coming from a country as secure, as stable, as democratic and as responsible as Australia," Downer said.
"There isn't any prospect any time in the future of an Australian government of any particular complexion being elected which wouldn't be a true champion of the non-proliferation regime."
He was responding to comments on national radio by Dewi Anwar, an adviser to former Indonesian president B.J. Habibi, who said that Australia had to reassure its neighbours it did not wish to acquire nuclear weapons.
She said Indonesia would "probably be concerned about Australia doing uranium enrichment until we get more details of it", adding that her country could consider uranium enrichment itself.
Australia, which holds the world's largest known reserves of uranium but does not use nuclear power, recently commissioned an inquiry into nuclear power and uranium processing.
Downer said while the government had not made a decision on whether to enrich uranium, it could be beneficial on the international level if it proved to be economically viable.
Australia currently sells uranium only to countries which have signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.