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Beijing ‘paving way’ for Islamabad’s entry, not going for a deal with New Delhi at ally’s cost
ISLAMABAD - China yesterday assured Pakistan there will be no deal with India over the Nuclear Suppliers Group at the cost of the traditional ally, The Nation learnt.
China, official sources said, had pledged not to back down on its assertion that if the NSG countries make an exception for India, they should do the same for Pakistan.
Pakistani diplomats spoke to the Chinese counterparts yesterday after Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj claimed China was not opposed to India's entry to NSG and was only focused on procedure. She also showed optimism that India will win Chinese support over the NSG membership.
Her comments come days after India’s foreign secretary S Jaishankar visited China and canvassed the issue of the NSG a week ahead of the plenary meeting of the group scheduled to be held in Seoul on June 24, where India’s membership is likely to be discussed.
Regarding Pakistan’s bid to enter to the NSG - the nation China is batting for - she said applications should be considered on merit, adding India was not opposed to Pakistan’s membership. “We wouldn't like to oppose anyone's entry to the nuke club. But we would like every country's application to be considered on merit,” she remarked.
China has been leading a group of nations that are holding out against India's membership to the 48-nation club that trades in advanced nuclear material and technology.
The US has already extended its support for India's inclusion in the NSG. British premier David Cameron has also assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the UK's ‘firm support’ for India's membership. Russia and Switzerland have also backed India's entry.
New Delhi already enjoys most of the benefits of NSG membership under a 2008 exemption to the NSG rules to clear the decks for nuclear deal with Washington, even though India has developed atomic weapons and never signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty - the main global arms control pact.
A senior official at the foreign ministry told The Nation, Pakistan immediately contacted China to verify Sushma Swaraj’s claims.
“They have assured us they will not let us down. Chinese officials said there will be no deal with India at the cost of Pakistan,” he added.
Another official said Beijing told Islamabad it was trying to pave way for Pakistan’s membership of the elite group. “If India goes into the NSG, there is every chance Pakistan will also get in,” he said, quoting Chinese counterparts.
Foreign office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said Pakistan was opposed to ‘countries-specific exemptions’ for the membership of NSG. He said Pakistan was for level-playing field and criteria based approach which treats the applications of Pakistan and India in a non-discriminatory manner. He said the two applications cannot be considered in isolation from the goal of maintaining strategic stability in South Asia.
Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and PM’s Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi have been in contact with counterparts with all the influential countries to get backing for Pakistan’s NSG bid and stop India’s solo entry into the elite group.
The two top diplomats said they were continuing to reach out to the other countries to ensure Pakistan’s application for NSG membership sails through.
Sartaj Aziz has been advocating that criteria should be evolved to grant membership of NSG and then it should be applied to all the aspiring countries. He believes besides China, several NSG member countries were supporting Pakistan’s stance.
On June 9, the 48-nation NSG held a special meeting in Vienna, Austria to consider applications from the two South Asian nations, both of whom posses atomic weapons and have not signed the NPT.
When it became obvious that China will not allow India to join the NSG, a spokesman for the US State Department urged Pakistan to present its application before the entire group. Meanwhile, now annual plenary session will be held in Seoul, South Korea, on June 23-24.
Senior analyst Dr Huma Baqai said the NSG membership of India does not figure too much in US policy. “Pakistan also deserves to be member of this group because Pakistan’s nuclear command and control structure is very safe. Indo-US cooperation is increasing in defence sector but Washington also realises the needs of Pakistan as well,” she maintained.
She said Indian lobby in Washington was very strong in moulding the opinion of US lawmakers in New Delhi’s favour.
http://nation.com.pk/national/20-Jun-2016/china-assures-pakistan-of-continued-support-over-nsg
Published in The Nation newspaper on 20-Jun-2016
