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| India-Pakistan |
| NSG should address nuclear "aspirations" of Pakistan too: China |
| 2008-09-06 |
| Beijing (PTI): China, seen as one of the sceptics that had reservations in granting a waiver to India, on Saturday hoped that the NSG would "equally address the aspirations of all parties," an apparent reference to its ally Pakistan, for the peaceful use of atomic energy. Addressing the third day of excruciating negotiations of the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in Vienna today, Cheng Jingye, head of the Chinese delegation, pointed out that Beijing hoped that the decision made by the grouping would "stand the test of time and contribute to the goals of nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful use of nuclear power." "It is also China's hope that the NSG would equally address the aspirations of all parties for the peaceful use of nuclear power while adhering to the nuclear non-proliferation mechanism," he said, apparently alluding to Pakistan's repeated attempts to get a civil nuclear deal with the United States, similar to the Indo-US agreement. "China would cooperate with all parties on the peaceful use of nuclear power in accordance with its international obligations and on the basis of equality and mutual benefit," Cheng was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency. "The 45-nation NSG Saturday approved a U.S. proposal to lift its 34-year-old nuclear trade embargo on India," the Xinhua report noted. Describing the Indo-US civil nuclear deal as "contentious," it pointed out that the agreement, which came after two days of talks in Vienna, cleared the way for the U.S. administration to submit its nuclear trade deal with India to the Congress for approval. The NSG, which controls the export and sale of nuclear technology worldwide, had been divided on the agreement, passed already by India's parliament in July, the report noted. The official news agency also quoted some unidentified experts as saying that the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, if implemented, would set a dangerous precedent, which would jeopardise the long-time efforts of the international nuclear non-proliferation mechanism and also trigger a regional nuclear arms race. The People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party of China, had published an opinion piece on September 1, describing the India-US nuclear deal "a major blow to the international non-proliferation regime." |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #2 NSG should address nuclear "aspirations" of Pakistan too: China ah, NO! |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-09-06 15:11 |
| #1 Chinese diplomats walked out of the NSG meeting. Bush called up Hu Jintao and read the riot act. |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-09-06 14:15 |