NSG: China changes tune, says group open to discussion about entry of non-NPT members

After raising objection after objection to India's bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group, China said on Tuesday that the group is open to discussing the inclusion of countries that are still to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

"The door is still open within the NSG for non-NPT members to join," said foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying. "There is always room for discussion."

On Monday, China had said that if India were to join the NSG, Pakistan must join as well. It also said that India's application to join the NSG was not on the agenda of NSG meeting in Seoul on 23-24 June, says the Hindustan Times.

"We did not target any country, India or Pakistan. We only care about the non-proliferation treaty," said Hua, adding that a discussion on including non-NPT countries in the NSG could "probably" come up during the Seoul plenary.

India is working hard to drum up support for its inclusion in the NSG. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has planned to bring up the issue with Chinese President Xi Jingping when they meet on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Tashkent on 23 June, and foreign secretary S Jaishankar will possibly travel to Seoul to raise support during the plenary.

China is not the only NSG member to object to the inclusion of members who have not signed the NPT. Austria and Ireland have reservations on the issue as well. Because the NSG functions on the basis of consensus, opposition from even one member will mean that India will not be allowed to join.

Hua said that the NPT is the "cornerstone" of the NSG and the non-proliferation regime. "The NSG members should focus on whether the criteria (of admitting new members) should be changed," she said, implying that changing the rules for India might mean raising issues for the US-Iran nuclear deal and the situation in North Korea.

She added that it was US that had made the rule that non-NPT countries should not be allowed to join the NSG.

However, on Monday, the US asked NSG members to back India's application in Seoul. "We believe, and this has been US policy for some time, that India is ready for membership and the US calls on participating governments to support India's application," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.