The three countries had assured New Delhi of their support, but at the plenary meeting they pressed for a “criteria-based process” for allowing non-NPT members into NSG.
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He said India had the right credentials for becoming a NSG member as it had met the conditions of the non-proliferation treaty.
As a member of the US House of Representative, Markey has unsuccessfully led effort to block passage of civil nuclear deal between India and the US.
China maintains its opposition to India joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), said the head of the arms control department in China’s Foreign Ministry.
He argued that the NSG was founded in response to India’s 1974 nuclear test, and it had worked for decades to prevent the sharing of technology that could contribute to the further spread of nuclear weapons.
Asserting that nobody in the global economy can equate India with Pakistan on the NPT issue, the spokesperson added that India’s current NSG hurdle was not a diplomatic failure.
After the Congress slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over India’s failed bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), party Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who is overseas, took to Twitter to hit out at the government’s “failed diplomacy”.
However, the Ministry focussed on the reason for the failure in Seoul, saying India’s entry was scuttled by opposition from “one country”, meaning China. Asked if India should sign the NPT to remove the objection in allowing its entry in the NSG, Chavan shot back: “Absolutely not”. A disappointed India attacked China in its official statement, saying “one country” had raised procedural hurdles repeatedly. China is leading opposition to a push by the United States to bring India into the NSG.
It expressed hope that a special plenary session of the NSG can be called by the year-end to discuss the issue again.
The paper had argued that creating exception for India, which did not qualify to become member as it was not a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, would encourage Pakistan to expand its nuclear capability.
Modi had ramped up his bid to get India into the NSG in the last few weeks, undertaking a multi-nation trip to court key countries including the U.S., Switzerland and Mexico. “We are highly disappointed by the outcome of the NSG plenary at Seoul”.
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One obstacle reportedly raised by China was that India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty-a treaty on nuclear disarmament that India says is biased.
