A day before President Pranab Mukherjee arrives in China, Beijing has thrown a spanner in the works by indicating that it is open to its "fair-weather friend" Pakistan, joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said NSG should discuss Pakistan’s application for membership to this elite club.
"China along with other counties has been maintaining that there should be a thorough discussion on whether non-NPT countries can join the NSG, and this decision should be made on consensus. This applies to all non-NPT countries including Pakistan," Hua Chunying, spokeswoman of the ministry said at the media briefing on Monday.
This is in stark contrast to what China said two weeks ago about India’s prospective membership to the NSG.
Recently, the United States had said the time was ripe for India to gain entry into the NSG. At that time, China had blocked this bid by saying India is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and therefore not eligible for NSG membership.'
Both India and Pakistan are not signatories to the NPT but China is making an exception for the latter.
It cited the example of France which had become a member of the NSG without signing the NPT at that time.
China is also trying to tactically combine India, Pakistan and Israel’s membership bid together knowing fully well that most countries would block Pakistan’s bid. Pakistan’s non-proliferation record is sullied with instances of AQ Khan, the Godfather of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, selling secrets to countries like Iran and North Korea.
Most Arab countries would also move to block Israel’s membership to the NSG in solidarity with the Palestinian cause. China knows fully well that by clubbing India’s bid along with that of Pakistan and Israel, the idea of new members into the NSG would be a non-starter with many existing members.
President Pranab Mukherjee begins his 4 day visit to China on Tuesday. His first port of call will be the southern industrial city of Guangzhou.
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