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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| China played spoilsport in NSG meet |
| 2008-09-06 |
| The biggest surprise element for India in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) deliberations was the role played by China which at the last minute spoke out against granting a waiver to India. After the NSG waiver, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan told reporters that India would take up the issue with China. For India the opportunity to express displeasure with Beijing’s spoiler role in the NSG presents itself as early as Sunday when Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi touches down in India for an official visit. China, which refused to give India any commitment on supporting the waiver, quietly opposed the waiver on the first day of the meeting. With the group of six countries managing to put up an impressive opposition to the waiver, China was quick to jump on to the naysayers bandwagon which included Austria, Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway and Austria. By day two of the NSG deliberations, the Chinese representatives were openly making attempts to delay the waiver. The Chinese side asked why countries were being pressured to agree to the waiver, which would allow India’s entry into the nuclear club. It is understood that US and Indian officials held meetings with the Chinese in a bid to keep them from derailing the waiver and adding weight to the non proliferation enthusiasts. The intense US pressure and last minute contact at the highest political level is said to have stopped Beijing from blocking the waiver. Even after the waiver, China is understood to have raised questions on a number of issues. In the first reaction to China’s role in the NSG, Mr Narayanan expressed surprise with China’s position and said that the opposition was not ideological like the group of six countries that have a long non proliferation roots. The strong Chinese position at the NSG meeting took both India and the US by surprise. Indian officials had also dismissed China as a potential spoiler at these proceedings even though Beijing had remained noncommittal on supporting the waiver at all high level interactions. Though the US and India were both surprised by China’s positioning, an editorial in the People’s Daily newspaper criticising the nuclear deal, was a clear indication of China’s real thoughts on the matter. The editorial in the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party said the deal posed a “major blow” to international nonproliferation. “Whatever the future of the US-India nuclear agreement, the multiple standard that the US has on the issue of nonproliferation has caused doubts in the world,” the editorial said. This was followed up by a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry urging caution in supporting the waiver and seeking a balance between the peaceful use of nuclear energy and nonproliferation concerns on weapons development. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #1 NEW DELHI: China almost spoilt India's party. That will remain the lasting memory of Beijing's strategic miscalculation in opposing India's waiver at the NSG meeting. In Delhi, National Security Adviser MK Narayanan expressed disappointment. "The Chinese foreign minister will come here and we will, of course, express disappointment. We will say that we did not expect this," Narayanan told Times Now . He added that India was surprised at China's behaviour because President Hu Jintao and PM Wen Jiabao had assured Manmohan Singh Beijing would play a constructive role. But Narayanan remained philosophical. "We can't choose our neighbours. We have China and Pakistan and we desire the best of relations with both". But it was a sign the Chinese whispers in Vienna could have implications for bilateral ties because a government long accused of winking at Beijing's transgressions decided to go public with its disappointment. |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-09-06 15:59 |