Seoul: No consensus has emerged so far at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) meet in Seoul on India’s inclusion in the exclusive club of 48 nations that looks after critical issues relating to the nuclear sector.
The Indian application for membership to the NSG was taken up at a post-dinner special session in the South Korean capital where heads of delegation of NSG are holding a plenary. About 300 participants from 48 member countries are attending the plenary which was preceded by official-level session that began on June 20.
Sources said that several countries led by China opposed the idea of letting India in on the grounds that New Delhi was a non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Those siding with China included Brazil, Austria, New Zealand, Turkey and Ireland.
Signing the NPT is one of the main requirements to be part of the elite club of nations that regulate global nuclear trade and technology. China had earlier brought up Pakistan's NSG application that virtually stonewalled India's chances of getting into the bloc without signing the Non-proliferation Treaty.
China had been insisting that if any concession is given to India, the same should apply to Pakistan which has an alleged bad track record on non-proliferation after it was said to have sold atomic weapons technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea.
Sources said that Pakistan's application didn't come up for the discussion.
Making a strong case for Pakistan's bid to join the 48-member NSG, Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain earlier in the say said that his country had made notable efforts over the years to strengthen its export controls, command and control and nuclear safety and security.
“Any exception in granting membership to the NSG will disturb strategic stability in South Asia,” Hussain told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan and discussed Pakistan's entry into the NSG.
The issue of considering applications of non-NPT countries, including India, was not on the main agenda of the NSG's closed-door plenary. But several diplomatic sources said that Japan raised the issue in the opening session. It was later decided that the matter would be discussed at the special session convened by Chairperson Rafael Grossi of Argentina.
Argentina and South Korea along with several key member nations, including the US, Britain, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, France and Russia, have been supportive of India's NSG aspirations.
Earlier, Prime Minister Modi, who met President Xi in Tashkent on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the Uzbekistan capital, urged China to judge India's application on its "merit".
"Prime Minister Modi urged China to make a fair and objective assessment of India's application and judge it on its own merit," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup briefed reporters in Tashkent.
In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the opposition to India's membership won't impact bilateral ties between them.
"We do not believe that it is an issue concerning the bilateral relationship between China and India," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told the media, adding that the two countries "have agreed that we would make joint efforts to develop closely knit relationship".
Ahead of the Seoul plenary, India made hectic diplomatic efforts to secure the membership in the grouping which works on the principle of consensus and allows a new member only if all existing members agree.
Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar is in Seoul as part of India's diplomatic outreach to push through the NSG.
