Don’t politicise our bid for NSG: India to China

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 9

In a subtle way, India today send out “significant” messages to China on its bid for Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership and its attempts to get JeM chief Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist by the UN.

Delivering an address at the India-China Think Tank Forum, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar pushed for India’s case for access to nuclear technology without any political colouring. He said, “In India’s case, predictable access to civilian nuclear energy technology is a key. The broad basing of the nuclear technology control group is also helpful to a more representative international order. Keeping in mind this solidarity of major developing states, it is important that China view this as a developmental aspiration and not give it a political colouring.”

Publicly, China has maintained that since India has not signed the Non Proliferation Treaty, it cannot be given NSG membership. But there is no denying the fact that for China, keeping India out has its strategic advantages.

He also referred to China's “technical hold” which has prevented India from getting Azhar designated as a terrorist by the UN.  “As diverse and pluralistic societies, we both face threats from fundamentalist terrorism. Yet, we do not seem to be able to cooperate as effectively we should in some critical international forums dealing with this subject,” he said.