The Congress on Monday termed External Affairs Sushma Swaraj’s statement that India would not oppose application of Pakistan for entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) as “surprising”.
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Despite Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar visiting Beijing a few days back, China had on Monday said that the inclusion of non-NPT members was never a topic on the agenda of NPT meetings.
When asked if the Obama government has taken up the matter with China, who has been firmly against India’s inclusion in the NSG, Kerry asserted that the United States has routinely spoken to other NSG participating members regarding the matter.
Hua also said that opinion in the 48-member NSG was divided not only over India’s inclusion, but also on the inclusion of all those who have not signed the NPT.
“The United States, as you know, strongly supports India’s application to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group”, Earnest said.
Even as the five-day annual NSG Plenary began in the South Korean capital, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying in Beijing said that India’s admission into NSG was not on the agenda.
At a separate news conference, the State Department reiterated the same.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is set to meet Chinese president Xi Jinping in Tashkent on Thursday in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, where he is likely to discuss India’s NSG bid.
He said the previous meetings of the NSG, “contrary to the claims of the Prime Minister and this government, did not have India’s membership application on the agenda”. India says it needs NSG membership to meet its energy requirements at a time when it is gradually moving towards more use of non-fossil fuels. “This is not a new topic of discussion that we’ve had privately with the members”, he said. She said that Pakistan used to be in a “denial mode” after terror attacks in India but its attitude after Pathankot assault was totally different.
Long’s piece voices China’s official view of backing Pakistan, its all-weather friend, for NSG membership. “If the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the NSG can give India an exemption, it should apply to Pakistan as well”, it said.
India has asserted that being a signatory to the NPT was not essential for joining the NSG as there has been a precedent in this regard, citing the case of France.
The access to the NSG, which regulates the global trade of nuclear technology, is expected to open up the worldwide market for energy-starved India, which has an ambitious energy generation programme.
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He said that while India sought membership, “it prevents Pakistan from joining by insisting on the latter’s bad record of nuclear proliferation”. India advocates nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament and commits itself to no-first-use of nuclear weapons as China does.
