In what can be seen as a sign of China relenting on India’s bid
for membership to the Nuclear
Suppliers Group (NSG), a Chinese delegation visited New Delhi on Tuesday
and discussed the issue with the Indian side even as Beijing said that it
supported a “two-step approach” to the issue.
“A Chinese delegation led by Director General Wang Qun of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited India on September 13 for talks with an
Indian delegation led by Amandeep Singh Gill, Joint Secretary (Disarmament
& International Security) in the Ministry of External Affairs,” the
External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
“The talks covered issues of mutual interest in the area of
disarmament and non-proliferation,” it stated.
At the NSG plenary in Seoul in June, Beijing
blocked New Delhi’s membership bid saying that for a country to be a member
of the 48-nation bloc, it has to be a signatory to the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
During Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to India last
month, it was agreed that China’s Director General for disarmament would hold
talks with his Indian counterpart on the issue.
Wang Qun heads the Chinese side during NSG meetings.
“As agreed by the External Affairs Minister (Sushma Swaraj) and
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in their meeting on August 13, the two sides
focused in particular on an issue of priority for India – membership of the
Nuclear Suppliers Group,” Tuesday’s External Affairs Ministry statement said.
“The discussions were candid, pragmatic and substantive. The two
sides agreed to meet for the next round on a mutually convenient date,” it
added.
In a separate statement issued by the Chinese embassy after the
meeting, it was stated that China supported the notion of a two-step approach
within the NSG to explore a non-discriminatory formula applicable to all
non-NPT states.
“On the question of non-NPT states’ participation
in the NSG, given that it is an issue of major concern to India, China, for
its part, shared with India the recent developments as it sees within the Group
in relation to the question,” the statement said.
“China also shared with India its principled positions and views
on the above question,” it stated.
“In the meantime, China listened to and had the inputs from India
on this issue, and indicated that it will bring such views and inputs back to
the Group for its consideration.”
It said that China hoped these inputs would help facilitate the
relevant discussions within the NSG.
“The two sides realized that the question of the non-NPT states’
participation is, in essence, a multilateral issue, and can only be subject to
multilateral solution by the Group,” the statement said.
“Bilateral exchanges should serve to facilitate the relevant
discussions within the Group.”
According to the statement, China pointed out that the issue of
the non-NPT states’ participation in the NSG raised new questions for the NSG
under the new circumstances, and the crux of this question was how to address
the gap between the existing policies and practices of the non-NPT
states and the existing international non-proliferation rules and norms
based on the NPT as the cornerstone.
“China wishes to see early commencement of an open and transparent
inter-governmental process to undertake, in accordance with the mandate adopted
by the NSG at its Seoul plenary meeting, a comprehensive and thorough study on
the question of the non-NPT states’ participation in the NSG in various
aspects,” it said.
“China
has hitherto not yet taken a position on any country-specific membership in
the category of the non-NPT states. And China supports the notion of two-step
approach within the Group to address the above question, i.e., at the first
stage, to explore and reach agreement on a non-discriminatory formula
applicable to all the non-NPT states, and to proceed to take up
country-specific membership issues at the second stage.”
China, according to the statement, is ready to actively
participate in the above process within the Group.
“The two sides also had in-depth discussions on issues related to
cyber security and the work of the Conference on Disarmament,” the Chinese
statement continued.
“The two sides believed that the consultation
is positive, candid, pragmatic and constructive,” it said.
“The two sides expressed the wish to intensify their exchanges on
the relevant issues. They also agreed to hold the next round of consultation in
China in due course, to be decided through diplomatic channels.”
For More Information: http://www.vishwagujarat.com/india/india-china-discuss-nsg-membership/
