China and France exploded on Monday nuclear devices in the atmosphere. While the French explosion took place over Mururoa atoll in the Pacific, China conducted the test in the Lop Nor region. Neither the French nor the Chinese Government officially announced the blasts. But senior Australian officials said their intelligence source was “infallible” and had been checked and double-checked. According to Indian Government officials, the Chinese explosion took place at 11-30 hrs. IST on Monday.
Protest Against French Test
CANBERRA, June 17.
Australia and New Zealand said to-day that France had exploded a nuclear bomb over Mururoa atoll in the Pacific and immediately registered their strong protests.
The Australian Prime Minister, Mr. Gough Whitlam, said his Government was deeply concerned by the blast to-day which ushered in France’s ninth series of tests in the South Pacific.
The New Zealand Prime Minister, Mr. Norman Kirk, said he had dispatched a protest to Paris over the resumption of testing “in violation of our rights the rights of our South Pacific neighbours under international law.”
China’s Explosion
NEW DELHI, June 17.
China to-day carried out a nuclear test above ground in the Lop Nor region at about 11-30 hours IST to-day. Announcing this, a press note issued by the Department of Atomic Energy here this evening said, on the basis of the signals obtained at Indian monitoring stations the explosion was conducted in the atmosphere. China, which exploded its first nuclear bomb in 1964, may have by now conducted about 17 nuclear tests with to-day’s test.