24 May 2017

News Report: India Unlikely to Get NSG Membership as China Reluctant to Soften Stand

China looks set to foil India’s bid for Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership again as Beijing has hinted that its position on the admission of non-NPT members remains unchanged.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India is again going to face stiff opposition for its NSG membership bid as China has not changed its position on allowing the entry of non-signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) into the elite nuclear club.

"China's position on the non-NPT member's participation in the NSG has not changed," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

"We support the NSG following the mandate of the 2016 Seoul plenary session and following building consensus as well as inter-governmental process is open and transparent to deal with the relevant issue in a two-step approach," Hua Chunying added.

India lost it bid for membership to NSG during the meeting last year in Seoul although US and other European countries supported India's candidature. China opposed India's application on the ground that New Delhi is not a signatory of the NPT.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group plenary meeting is likely to be held next month in Bern, Switzerland. The NSG control trade in nuclear materials, equipment and technology.

"Relations between India and China have worsened since the visit of the Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh and India's boycott of the One Belt One Road conference. India has been opposing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as it passes through disputed territory. Therefore, China will hardly change its stance on India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group," Srikanth Kondapalli, Professor of Chinese Studies in the Jawaharlal Nehru University, told Sputnik.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.