Subhashis Mittra
India’s failure in its determined effort to clinch membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a clear setback to its efforts to join the 48-nation grouping as Beijing succeeded in scuttling New Delhi’s bid despite a significant majority backing the Indian case.
Though 38 countries supported India, China was unrelenting in thwarting New Delhi despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting in Tashkent to support India’s case on its merits.
An upset India later accused “one country”, a clear reference to China, of persistently creating procedural hurdles during the discussions on its application.
“We understand that despite procedural hurdles Persistently raised by one country, a three-hour-long discussion took place last night on the issue of future participation in the NSG,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swamp said.
However, the efforts initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi especially after receiving a green signal to be a member of the the multi lateral export control group Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) for pushing India’s bid for NSG membership has come in for praise.
“We are already a member of the nuclear club. We can get uranium from any country which has it in surplus, using which we can meet our nuclear needs,” Bharat Ratna CNR Rao said.
“India’s entry into the regime(MTCR)as its 35th member would be mutually beneficial in the furtherance of international non-proliferation objectives,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, which noted that India’s entry into the MTCR has come after years of diplomatic negotiations with its 34 members.
India had signed a key civil nuclear deal with the US in 2008which gave it some access to nuclear materials and technology. But it has been pushing for a formal entry into elite groups like the NSG and MTCR which control the trade of nuclear material and technology.
Since it concluded its civil nuclear deal with the US, India has been trying to get admission into export control regimes such as the NSG, MTCR, Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement that regulate the conventional, nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and technologies.
India’s efforts to get into the MTCR also got a boost after it agreed to join the Hague Code of Conduct, dealing with the ballistic missile nonproliferation arrangement earlier this month.
Experts say India’s entry into MTCR – an exclusive club of countries controlling exports in missile technology — will boost Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign policy initiatives, especially after Beijing reportedly stalled Delhi’s entry into NSG.
The MTCR membership will enable India to buy sophisticated missile technology and also enhance its joint ventures with Russia. India is also looking to source drones from the US. India will now also be able to acquire from the US armed Predator drones –America’s hot favourite in its war on terror in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The aim of the MTCR is to restrict the proliferation of missiles, complete rocket systems, unmanned air vehicles and related technology for those systems capable of carrying a 500kg payload for at least 300km, as well as systems intended for the delivery of the weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
China has said India should not become a member until it signs the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) – a key requirement for all NSG members.
Interestingly, Beijing’s application to join the MTCR is still pending and some analysts believe that India may use this as a bargaining chip in its NSG discussions with China.
The US has welcomed India joining as the 35th member of the MTCR, saying New Delhi has demonstrated “a sustained commitment to nonproliferation”.
Elizabeth Trudeau, Director, Press Office, at the US State Department, to a question also said that all the MTCR members, including the US, agreed that India’s membership “would strengthen international nonproliferation”.
“AU 34 current members, including the United States, agreed India met the standard and that India’s membership would strengthen international nonproliferation,” she said.
India had applied in 2008 for the membership of the elite club that controls exports in missile technology and unmanned delivery systems of atomic or other weapons of mass destruction. The group was set up in 1987 to limit the spread of unmanned systems for delivering weapons of mass destruction.
India’s long wait to join the MTCR actually ended in Washington earlier in June during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US trip when a deadline for members of the grouping to object to India’s admission expired on June 6.
None of the group’s 34 members raised any objections, paving the way for India’s smooth entry into the bloc of which China is still not a member.
Analysts also point out that China does no way want to disappoint its old ally Pakistan and hence Pakistan should equally be blamed along with China for India’s failure to enter NSG.
Islamabad on its part made intensive diplomatic lobbying to prevent New Delhi from gaining entry into the NSG, Adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sattaj Aziz said.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wrote letters to 17 of his counterparts as part of hectic diplomatic efforts to inform world leaders about Pakistan’s position on the NSG entry.
China’s hardball came close on the heels of President Xi Jinping calling China and Pakistan “iron brothers”. President Pranab Mukherjee’s request to Xi for his “personal intervention” on the NSG issue, foreign secretary S Jaishankar’s visit to Beijing and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal appeal to the Chinese President at Tashkent all failed to cut much ice.
Besides China, other nations like South Africa, Norway, Brazil, Austria, New Zealand, Ireland and Turkey blocked India’s entry into NSG.
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