Close X
Thursday, January 16, 2025
ADVT 
International

No NSG Consensus Over India's Membership Bid

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 23 Jun, 2016 11:03 AM
    A lack of consensus amid strong opposition from several countries led by China thwarted India's bid for NSG membership in Seoul on Thursday night even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tashkent to consider New Delhi's bid on its merit.
     
    The Indian application for membership to the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group was taken up at a post-dinner special session in the South Korean capital where heads of delegation of NSG are holding a plenary, highly informed sources in Seoul told IANS.
     
    The sources said 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.
     
    The sources said Pakistan's application didn't come up for the discussion. 
     
    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. 

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Indians Shine At Music Contest Camp Ka Champ In UAE

    Indians Shine At Music Contest Camp Ka Champ In UAE
    Deepak Sharma, 25, from Rajasthan and Tayyab Tahir, 24, from Lahore won on Friday the Camp Ka Champ 2015 -- the UAE's largest and only singing contest for the labour community.

    Indians Shine At Music Contest Camp Ka Champ In UAE

    Canadian Flights Scheduled To Mexico Resume After Hurricane Patricia Weakens

    Canadian Flights Scheduled To Mexico Resume After Hurricane Patricia Weakens
    Ontario native Arthur Fumerton lives in Puerto Vallarta and says the weather is beautiful and sunny today, hours after the Category 5 storm made landfall Friday night.

    Canadian Flights Scheduled To Mexico Resume After Hurricane Patricia Weakens

    Indian-American Marine Taj Sareen Killed In Britain Jet Crash, Tributes Pour In

    Indian-American Marine Taj Sareen Killed In Britain Jet Crash, Tributes Pour In
    San Diego-based Sareen, 34, was flying his F/A-18 Hornet aircraft when it crashed shortly after take-off on Wednesday near the Lakenheath Royal Air Force base in Britai

    Indian-American Marine Taj Sareen Killed In Britain Jet Crash, Tributes Pour In

    In Pageant-crazy Venezuela, Men Compete For Miss Gay Crown

    In Pageant-crazy Venezuela, Men Compete For Miss Gay Crown
    In the popular Miss Gay Venezuela competition, men don elaborate wigs and layers of makeup to show off their skills in what they call “the art of transformation.”

    In Pageant-crazy Venezuela, Men Compete For Miss Gay Crown

    Mark Mulroney, Son Of Former PM Brian, Says No To Leadership Bid, For Now

    Mark Mulroney, Son Of Former PM Brian, Says No To Leadership Bid, For Now
    OTTAWA — Toronto businessman Mark Mulroney says he won't run for the Conservative party leadership, but he's not closing the door forever.

    Mark Mulroney, Son Of Former PM Brian, Says No To Leadership Bid, For Now

    Tributes Paid To Former Sikh Mayor Sardar Sham Singh Jassar In Britain

    Tributes Paid To Former Sikh Mayor Sardar Sham Singh Jassar In Britain
    Authorities of Hounslow town in England paid tributes to former mayor Sardar Sham Singh Jassar, who worked as a civil servant for more than 30 years.

    Tributes Paid To Former Sikh Mayor Sardar Sham Singh Jassar In Britain