China accuses US of ignoring facts over India's NSG bid

China accuses US of ignoring facts over India's NSG bid

China accused the US of ignoring facts over India not getting entry into the NSG and claimed that the plenary meeting of the elite grouping in Seoul did not discuss the accession of any specific country.

China's assertion came in response to the remarks by US Under Secretary for Political AffairsTom Shannon that India failed to get entry into Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) due to China-led opposition.

Shannon had said one country can break consensus in the 48-nation atomic trading bloc and insisted that such member should be held accountable.

"With regard to the US officials comments on the NSG we want to point out that this official shows no regard to facts," Chinese Foreign Ministry official Hong Lei told a media briefing.

"In the plenary meeting in Seoul India' accession was not on the agenda of the meeting. It did not discuss the accession of any specific country into the group," Hong said.

"The news release of the plenary meeting said meeting discussed the technical, legal and political questions concerning the accession of relevant countries," he said.

On Shannon's comment that China's motives in the South China Sea (SCS) was intended towards Indian Ocean, Hong said "we are strongly dissatisfied with that" remark. Read more.

Yashwant Sinha slams Modi govt on Pak, NSG

Yashwant Sinha slams Modi govt on Pak, NSG

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday seemed to disagree with South Block's public comments on China blocking India's bid to enter the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). He advocated stronger India-China ties.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader Yashwant Sinha was more forthright in criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies, both on NSG and Pakistan. Sinha termed the efforts to be an NSG member as "misguided". He criticised the PM's Pakistan policy in the light of the terrorist attack in Pampore. "I say this strongly that India should not accept the NSG membership. We should not go there as an applicant. Whatever we had to get, we have got it," 83-year-old Sinha said.

Meanwhile, South Block expressed hope that the nuclear export control group could take up the issue of India's membership at its proposed meeting by the end of the year.

Sinha, who has more than once criticised the PM and party president Amit Shah, said India has already got what it needed from NSG by the 2008 waiver and had more to lose than gain by now becoming a member.

On Modi's Pakistan policy, Sinha said "nothing" has come out, or will.

Returning to India after a six-day China tour, Chouhan said in Bhopal that dialogue with Beijing should continue, despite it having opposed India's NSG membership. "Dialogue with China should continue to strengthen economic ties. Both countries have their own nationalinterests," he said. Read more.

China to block India's NSG bid if Pakistan not included

China to block India's NSG bid if Pakistan not included

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Thursday assured Prime MinisterNarendra Modi of his country’s support to India’s bid for the membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), even as China led five other countries at a meeting of the export control group in Vienna to stall the proposal.

According to sources, China will approve of India’s membership only ifPakistan is also included in the elite group.

Modi, meanwhile, is likely to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on June 23-24, where India and Pakistan are likely to be admitted to the six-member group. China had objected to India’s entry to the SCO as well. However, it had relented once Pakistan’s request to join the group was accepted.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Thursday assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his country’s support to India’s bid for the membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), even as China led five other countries at a meeting of the export control group in Vienna to stall the proposal.

According to sources, China will approve of India’s membership only if Pakistan is also included in the elite group.

Read more.

From tackling terror to NSG inclusion, Modi - Obama make headway on a range of issues

From tackling terror to NSG inclusion, Modi - Obama make headway on a range of issues

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s discussion on Tuesday with US President Barack Obama in Washington, a joint statement described what it billed as their “third major bilateral summit”, after earlier meetings in September 2014 and January 2015.

The statement noted a new military logistics agreement, made common cause in the South China Sea, revealed growing American involvement in helping India build an indigenous aircraft carrier, and announced additional co-development projects for defence equipment. There is a new agreement for sharing terrorist-related information. India will be buying six 1,000 MW nuclear power plants from Toshiba-Westinghouse, with the contract to be signed in 2017. And Washington has thrown its full weight behind India’s candidature for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Asia-Pacific cooperation

US officials privately lament New Delhi’s poor follow-up of strategic agreements. This joint statement pins India down to specific action, announcing “a roadmap for cooperation under the 2015 US-India Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region, which will serve as a guide for collaboration in the years to come.”

In a subtly-worded statement that takes the US-India partnership beyond the 2014 Vision Statement and 2015 Declaration of Friendship, Modi and Obama “resolved that the United States and India should look to each other as priority partners in the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean region.”Read more.