Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar made unannounced trip to Beijing, discussed NSG
New Delhi : The foreign affairs establishment seems quite confident of securing an entry into the exclusive club of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) when the 48 member elite atomic trading bloc meets in Seoul later this month. The United States of America and its allies have been pushing for India’s membership, but China has been demanding that if India gets an entry then its neighbour and rival Pakistan too should be allowed in.
It was revealed on Sunday that foreign secretary S Jaishankar paid a two-day unannounced visit to Beijing. His visit on June 16-17 came a week ahead of the plenary meeting of the NSG scheduled for June 24th at Seoul. “Yes, I can confirm Foreign Secretary visited Beijing on June 16-17 for bilateral consultations with his Chinese counterpart.
All major issues, including India’s NSG membership, were discussed,” foreign ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. This acknowledgement of high level exchange between Delhi and Beijing was followed by the external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj’s optimistic assertions at a media briefing ‘China is not opposing our bid to enter the NSG.”
She told a questioner: “China is not opposing membership of India in the NSG; it is only talking of criteria and procedure. I am hopeful that we would be able to convince China as well to support our entry into the NSG. I think that there is a consensus which is evolving and I am sure that India will become the member of the NSG this year. The NSG entry is crucial for India’s energy policy. I’m myself in contact with 23 nations, one or two members raised concern but I think a consensus is there.”
In her focused optimism, Sushma Swaraj refused to contemplate on the consequences that would follow if India fails to get the NSG membership. “I have simply not heard that part of the question,” she insisted. But she also dropped a hint that there was no question of India’s opposition to Pakistan’s entry into the NSG.
‘‘India, being a non-member of the NSG, cannot comment on its entry and its role. But we will not oppose entry of any nation to the NSG. We think that the application of each country should be considered on the basis of their merit,” she added.
The foreign secretary’s visit and the minister’s assertions have come in the backdrop of China’s strong opposition to India’s membership at the premier club arguing that it was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Earlier this week, China’s official media said India’s NSG membership would “jeopardise” China’s national interests besides touching a “raw nerve” in Pakistan. The Chinese Foreign Ministry had said a week back that members of the NSG “remain divided” on the issue of non-NPT countries joining it and called for “full discussions”.
