China reacts cautiously to India's request for NSG membership

From K J M Varma
Beijing, May 26 (PTI) India's request for NSG membership
should follow standard procedures based on consultations,
China Thursday said, reacting cautiously to New Delhi's
inclusion in the the world's premier non-proliferation body.
The new membership of the NSG should follow its
"standard procedures based on consultations among its
members," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Jiang Yu said
when asked at briefing here today about 46-member NSG
including India's request for membership at its next meeting.
China's support was crucial as NSG decisions are
taken with consensus among members.
The NSG Troika, consisting of the Netherlands, New
Zealand and Hungary had included India's membership as a part
of special agenda to be considered at NSG Plenary meeting to
be held early next month.
India was hopeful as it had received assurances of
support from the leaders of US, France and Russia besides
several other important member states of the NSG.
China did not oppose granting of crucial waiver to
enable India to carry out nuclear commerce, when it came up
for approval in September 2008, which helped it sail through
as NSG. Beijing raised some questions but later supported
along with other members.
The NSG waiver, a key process of the India-US
nuclear accord enabled India to access key civil nuclear
technologies and fuel.
Pakistan, a close ally of China is also demanding
a similar waiver.
Islamabad like New Delhi is not a signatory to the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), an important precursor
to NSG membership.
As NSG waiver opened the door to New Delhi for
nuclear commerce with agreements with number of countries to
set up nuclear power plants to boost power generation in
India, China has announced plans to set up a one giga watt
nuclear power plant for Pakistan.
China so far has not sought the approval of the NSG
arguing that it would be built and operated under the
safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, (IAEA).
The massive plant was in addition to two 330 mw
nuclear plant at Chashma in Pakistan's Punjab built by China
with promise to build two more of the same capacity.