New Delhi: China and Pakistan are closely coordinating moves to block India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
Talking about the China-Pakistan grand strategy to stall India’s admission into the NSG, an US official, close to the development, said that from all counts it does appear that China and Pakistan are coordinating to stop the India’s entry.
Beijing is using Pakistan’s Non Starter position with the NSG to block India’s application in the name of parity, stating that it would either support NSG entry for both India and Pakistan, or none of them.
When India sought an information session with the NSG Participating Governments (PGs) at the recent NSG meeting on April 25 and 26, where it would have made a formal presentation to the NSG Group in support of its membership, Pakistan requested for a similar discussion slot with the NSG PGs.
Reports say that even though Pakistan was fully aware that its request would be rejected, it made its application at the cue of China, in order for Beijing to look even-handed when it sought the rejection of both requests on grounds of parity.
It is also believed that Pakistan is now going to write to all the NSG PGs about its wish to join the NSG.
China knows that Pakistan does not stand a chance at the NSG, and most of the NSG states will reject Islamabad’s application.
By taking the lead in rejecting the Pakistani application along with that of India, China would like to project its position as ‘neutral’ when in reality it is ‘working in tandem with Pakistan to stall India’s application’.
The Chinese government, during Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain’s visit to China in November 2015, told him ‘if India is allowed to join the NSG and Pakistan is deprived of NSG membership, Beijing will veto the move and block the Indian entry’.
Meanwhile, US officials are disappointed with the Chinese tactics of ‘using Pakistan’s non credentials with the NSG to settle scores with India’.
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