India's Entry Into NSG: No Approval Before Consensus on Participation of Non-NPT Countries, Says China
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the NSG members will not discuss the entry of countries who have not signed the NPT "before reaching a specific plan".
New Delhi/Beijing, June 21: Ahead of the plenary meet of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in Astana, China ruled out the participation of India into the elite club without a "consensus" among member states on the participation of non-NPT countries. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the NSG members will not discuss the entry of countries who have not signed the NPT "before reaching a specific plan".
While the United States and other member countries of the NSG have been backing India, China has been opposing New Delhi’s application, citing its non-signatory status to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. "So there is no discussion on India’s participation," Lu Kang was quoted by PTI as saying. The Chinese official said Beijing was not blocking India's entry, adding that rules and procedures of the NSG should be followed. China Refutes Reports Of People's Liberation Army's Transgression Into Uttarakhand In India.
"There is no blocking by certain members. Because there are procedures in the NSG and members make decisions according to the procedures and proceedings. As far as I know, this plenary meeting is being held and there will be discussions on the NPT non-parties participation and the political and legal issues concerning that," he said.
"Before reaching a specific plan, the NSG will not discuss on the participation of certain NPT non-party (countries who have not signed NPT). So there is no discussion on India’s participation. As far as China’s position is concerned, we respect the NSG rules and regulations and we will seek a non-discriminatory solution that can be accepted by all," Lu Kang added. Modi's Assertions About Nuclear Missiles Has Cost India a Place in NSG: Anand Sharma.
On India’s assertion that the majority of the NSG member states backed its entry while China continued to block it, Lu Kang said: "I cannot say for India whether China is blocking it. But I must say that the NSG is a non-proliferation mechanism multilaterally and there are certain rules and procedures and all members must follow the rules and procedures. And the decisions must be based on consensus."
"The entry of India or any other country I believe it is an internal affair of the NSG to discuss this. So we are doing it totally in accordance with rules within this mechanism," he said. "As for the plan, we still need more consultation and we cannot predict one year, two years whether any time period to have consensus but the decision must be based on consensus," he said.
Asked whether there was any progress on this in the India-China bilateral dialogue on non-proliferation issues, he said, "I don’t have any specific answer". (With PTI inputs)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 21, 2019 09:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).