India and China are set to continue talks regarding India’s membership bid for the 48 member Nuclear Suppliers Group.
New Delhi (Sputnik) – India and China held substantive and constructive discussions on India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Beijing on Monday.
“Following the meeting in New Delhi on September 13, the two countries continued their discussions on the NSG issue in Beijing when Joint Secretary (Disarmament and International Security) Amandeep Gill met Director General of Department of Arms Control Wang Qun," said a source in the Ministry of External Affairs.
Chinese opposition to India’s bid for membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group has created a rift between India-China bilateral ties. China has so far prevented India from entering the NSG club on the grounds that it is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
China wants a criteria-based approach on India’s entry into the NSG and still insisting that “signing of the NPT is a must”, for China's chief negotiator Wang Qun told reporters after the meeting.
China maintains that the NSG rule has been set by the international community and if exceptions are allowed on the question of NPT then the international non-proliferation regime will collapse altogether.
This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.