Following Prime Minister Modi’s meeting with the Chinese Premier Xi Jinping on Thursday, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) failed to arrive at a consensus in Seoul regarding India’s membership, reported The Indian Express. It would also enable India to participate in any exercise to modify or amend NSG guidelines in future. Thirty-eight countries supported India, according to Indian officials.
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In his address at the SCO summit, PM Modi said its partnership with India will help protect the region from threats of radicalisation, violence and terror. Questions and doubts by other fence-sitting countries dissolved in the course of the evening, leaving China as the last man standing against India.
“We expect that our partners will be able to accede as quickly as possible, by our next meeting in Kazakhstan” next year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after the two countries signed memorandums on joining, the Kremlin website said. What the NSG membership would do is to formalise India’s exceptional status. “So there was no need of this desperation on the NSG issue”, Sharma said.
The remarks come on the day when member countries are expected to take a decision on India’s application after an intense first session on Wednesday left China isolated with other member countries speaking in favour of New Delhi. Therefore, there was no point of China supporting or opposing India’s membership. “He said China should contribute to the emerging consensus in Seoul”.
“India will unite with SCO countries to work towards this goal”.
Therefore, at both junctures, what lies ahead for India is totally in the hands of China.
“We do not believe that it is an issue concerning the bilateral relationship between China and India”, she said. South Korea, which took over the chairmanship of the nuclear cartel steered the discussion on India’s membership, said sources.
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The meeting lasted for almost 50 minutes and comes in the backdrop of stiff Chinese opposition to India’s entry into the NSG. Though Pakistan is just a proxy in real terms, but China has calculatively succeeded so far in abstaining India’s bid with a conditional Pakistan bid for membership. “The membership of SCO will also help CPEC project and will strengthen the bilateral relations of Russian Federation and Pakistan”.
