As China continues to obstruct India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Defence experts were of the view that Beijing has set its condition that if New Delhi becomes a member of the body, so should Pakistan.
Defence expert Uday Bhaskar said, he was not surprised, “The Chinese position on NSG should not come as a surprise to India because Beijing has made it very clear that they are not going to review their position.”
“They have set out what they think of their principles, which really means that if India gets into NSG, so should Pakistan,” he added.
Defence expert, Qamar Agha agreed saying, China wants Pakistan to become a member of the NSG.
“China has been doing this for quite some time for two reasons. They do not want India to play a greater role in the body (NSG) which controls nuclear trade. Secondly, they want Pakistan also to become a member of the NSG, for which the international community is not prepared,” Agha said.
Commenting on India as a nuclear power, he said its record in nuclear non-proliferation is clear.
“India’s nuclear weapon is controlled by the elected government whereas Pakistan’s nuclear weapon is controlled by its military establishment. India has never been involved in any nuclear proliferation besides this. India has also declared that it will not use nuclear weapons against those countries which do not have nuclear weapons. So, by action and deeds India has proved its credibility,” he said.
However, Agha expressed confidence over India becoming a member of the NSG soon because other members of the Security Council are now looking for other means to get New Delhi on board.
China, yesterday said once more that there is no change in its stance on India’s admission into the NSG.
The comment was made by a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang in the NSG plenary at Bern, Switzerland.
Narendra Modi will be visiting the US between June 25-26 and his discussions with Donald Trump are likely to be on finding a common approach on matters related to South Asia, particularly the rise in infiltration from the neighboring Pakistan, terrorism and India’s case for a seat at the NSG.