Over past many months Indian diplomacy had been on an overdrive, even approaching Russia to influence Beijing not to oppose India's entry
Ahead of the Nuclear Suppliers Group's (NSG's) plenary meeting in June, China on Monday insisted on evolving the criteria for admitting countries that have not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) into the elite club. The demand, couched in diplomatic language, means that a Chinese wall will stand against India's membership.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a regular news briefing that inclusion of non-NPT countries (such as India and Pakistan) in the NSG should follow a two-step approach — evolving a universal formula for all such nations and then taking up each country's application.
Over past many months Indian diplomacy had been on an overdrive, even approaching Russia to influence Beijing not to oppose India's entry. Sources here said that Russia was even warned that India will stall purchase of its nuclear reactors for Kudankulam 5 and 6 if it didn't prevail upon Beijing to end its opposition. It is believed that Russia's deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin had raised the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his meeting earlier this month.
Keeping in view Beijing's stance, it appears that Russia has not been able to use its influence "China's position on the non-NPT members' participation in the NSG has not changed," Chinese spokesperson Hua Chunying said. "We support the NSG group following the mandate of the 2016 Seoul plenary session and building consensus as well as (an) intergovernmental process (that) is open and transparent to deal with the relevant issue in a two-step approach," she added.
India has underscored that NPT membership is not essential for joining the NSG, as was illustrated in the case with France, which became a member of the NSG without signing the NPT. Sources here said that at the talks with China, India had insisted that the NSG was not a non-proliferation grouping, but an "export control" mechanism. Therefore, India's NSG bid should be de-linked from the criterion of NPT membership.
The 48-nation NSG is expected to hold its plenary next month in Bern, Switzerland, where New Delhi's entry is expected to be discussed. India officially applied for membership in May last year. The matter came up for discussion at the NSG's Seoul plenary session last June but Beijing scuttled New Delhi's bid on the ground that it was not a signatory to the NPT regime. China has reiterated its position on new applicants in the past but detractors say it is pursuing such an approach at the behest of its close ally Pakistan.
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