Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar visited Beijing this week to seek China's support for India's nuke club or NSG membership
Highlights
- Foreign Secretary visited China this week over India's nuke club entry
- China leading opposition to India joining 48-nation group
- Key Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) meeting in Seoul on Friday
Ahead of a key meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in Seoul on Friday, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar made an unannounced visit to China this week to seek support for India's membership of the elite club. He was in Bejing from June 16-17 and held bilateral consultations with his counterpart.
China is leading countries opposed to India joining the 48-nation group that trades in advanced nuclear material and technology while restricting the sale of items that can be used to make nuclear arms.
New Delhi already enjoys most of the benefits of NSG membership under a 2008 exemption to NSG rules granted to support its nuclear cooperation deal with Washington, even though India has developed atomic weapons and never signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the main global arms control pact.
After an NSG meet in Vienna earlier this month, China had said "large differences" remain over the issue of non-NPT countries joining the NSG. China has also said that if India is allowed to join, so must Pakistan - Beijing's close ally.
Earlier this week, report in the Chinese media said that India's entry to the NSG will "shake the strategic balance in South Asia and even cast a cloud over peace and stability in the entire Asia-Pacific region".
After a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month, President Barack Obama had pledged America's backing for India to be given a seat in the NSG. British Premier David Cameron has also assured PM Modi of the UK's "firm support" for India's membership. Russia and Switzerland have also backed India's entry to the NSG.
Sartaj Aziz, who functions as Pakistan's Foreign Minister, has been phoning NSG members like Russia and South Korea, advocating a "non-discriminatory approach" that would not distinguish between Delhi and Islamabad.
Those who oppose the idea of admitting a non-NPT state such as India argue that if it is to be admitted, it should be under criteria that apply equally to all states rather than under a "tailor-made" solution for India on account of its strengthened relationship with the US.