China Broke The Silence On India’s NSG Membership, Said It Will Touch ‘Raw Nerve’ With Pak

China is one of the countries, which are opposing India’s NSG membership vehemently and since it’s opposition to India’s bid, the country’s official media released the first statement. China’s in state-run Global Times commented that New Delhi’s membership of the elite club will not only touch a “raw nerve” in Pakistan but also jeopardise the national interests of China.

It stated that India and Pakistan are both nuclear power in the region and they keep alert to each other’s nuclear capabilities. Now India’s bid for Nuclear Suppliers Group membership and its possible consequences  will inescapably touch a raw nerve in Pakistan as India is its traditional rival in the region.

They have also said that Pakistan is not willing to see an enlarging gap in nuclear power with India and a nuclear race is a likely outcome that will not only jeopardise China’s national interests but also paralyse regional security.

The paper reported that Modi’s last week diplomatic journey held a goal to garner support for his country’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group. While the US and some NSG members backed India’s membership bid, most of the countries especially China along with Turkey, South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland and Austria opposed India’s admission.

Nuclear Suppliers Group members are allowed to  trade in and export nuclear technology and the group looks after critical issues relating to the nuclear sector. NSG works under the principle of unanimity and that means even one country’s vote against India’s bid can evict India.

The commentary further stated,”Beijing insists that a prerequisite of New Delhi’s entry is that it must be a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) while India is not. Despite acknowledging this legal and systematic requirement, the Indian media called China’s stance “obstructionist”.

“India has its own calculations for joining the NSG. Eyeing retaining the fastest growing economy tag, India’s access to the NSG, a body that regulates the global trade of nuclear technology, is expected to open up the international market for India’s domestic nuclear energy programme.

It reported that India can advance its development in this regard with the support of the US and the deliberations of the US  are clear as with India’s NSG membership it can sell its nuclear technology to India since the US is the world’s largest producer of nuclear power.

It also read that an agreement has been made  between the two countries during Modi’s visit to the US under which a US company is set to build six nuclear reactors in India.

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14 June 2016
Avni S. Singh