Chinese Communist paper: India's bid for NSG "thwarted" as it hasn't signed nuclear non-proliferation treaty

By Our Representative
In a sharply-worded editorial, “Global Times” (June 28), a Chinese newspaper published under the auspices of the country’s Communist Party daily “People’s Daily”, has said that failure of India to be a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) at the plenary meeting in Seoul last week was mainly caused by the fact that New Delhi did not go according to the “rules.”
The rule that India did not follow, according to “Global Times” editorial titled “Delhi’s NSG bid upset by rules, not Beijing”, is that “India is not a signatory to the non-proliferation treaty (NPT)”, yet it is “the most active applicant to join the NSG.”
An international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, only four UN member states have not joined the NPT – India, Israel, Pakistan and South Sudan. North Korea signed the treaty in 1985, but never complied with it.
India believes that NPT creates a club of "nuclear haves" and a larger group of "nuclear have-nots" by restricting the legal possession of nuclear weapons to those states that tested them before 1967. These are the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China.
India's then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, now President of India, said in 2007: "If India did not sign the NPT, it is not because of its lack of commitment for non-proliferation, but because we consider NPT as a flawed treaty and it did not recognize the need for universal, non-discriminatory verification and treatment."
Referring to NPT, “Global Times” says, “Since its foundation in 1975, all NSG members shall be NPT signatories. This has become the primary principle of the organization. Now India wants to be the first exception to join the NSG without signing the NPT. It is morally legitimate for China and other members to upset India's proposal in defense of principles.”
Pointing out that this was the main reason why 10 countries, including China, opposed India’s “bid” for NSG, the editorial says, “Before the Seoul meeting, the Indian media played up the prospects of its bid. Some even claim that among the 48 members of the NSG, 47 have given it a green light, except China.”
Objecting to what it calls “Indian public opinion” reacting strongly and trying to even point out that China played the game, the editorial says, “A few Indian media outlets started to vilify China's position, and some Indians even called for a boycott of Chinese-made products and a withdrawal from the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) group.”
Pointing towards how other four BRICS countries opposed India’s bid, the editorial says, “US backing adds the biggest impetus to India's ambition. By cozying up to India, Washington's India policy actually serves the purpose of containing China.” It warns, “The US is not the whole world. Its endorsement does not mean India has won the backing of the world.”
It underlines, “This basic fact, however, has been ignored by India. Some Indians' accusations do not make any sense. China's action is based on international norms, but India's reaction seems to indicate that their national interests can override principles recognized by the world.”
“Recent years have seen the Western world giving too many thumbs up to India, but thumbs down to China”, the editorial says, adding, this has “spoiled” India. “Although the South Asian country's GDP accounts for only 20 percent of that of China, it is still a golden boy in the eyes of the West, having a competitive edge and more potential compared to China.”
The editorial says, “Throwing a tantrum won't be an option for New Delhi. India's nationalists should learn how to behave themselves. Now that they wish their country could be a major power, they should know how major powers play their games.”