‘India’s NSG membership to affect both Pakistan, China’

BEIJING: Vehemently opposing India’s NSG bid, the Chinese official media on Tuesday said New Delhi’s membership would not only touch a raw nerve in Pakistan and increase a nuclear arms race but also jeopardise Beijing’s national interests.

An op-ed commentary in the state-run Global Times, titled India mustn’t let nuclear ambitions blind itself, said New Delhi’s NSG membership would set off a nuclear confrontation in the region. India and Pakistan, both nuclear powers, keep alert to each other’s nuclear capabilities. India’s application for the NSG membership and its potential consequences will inevitably touch a raw nerve in Pakistan. As Pakistan is not willing to see an enlarging gap in nuclear power with India, a nuclear race is a likely outcome.

This would not only paralyse regional security but also jeopardise China’s national interests, said the commentary, the first write-up on the issue since Beijing’s opposition to the Indian bid.

Reports from Vienna where the NSG is based said while the majority of the 48-member group backed India’s membership, China along with New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria were opposed to India’s admission.