India disappointed at Chinese stand

New Delhi, Sept 7 : While the Nuclear Supplies Group waiver at Vienna on Saturday has been a major breakthrough for India, there is concern here that China chose to join the group of six like-minded countries that expressed reservations in granting India-specific waiver at the last minute in the NSG meeting.

National Security Advisor M K Narayanan told reporters on Saturday that India would take up the issue with China. The Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jienchi is visiting India next week and Narayanan said that the subject will be discussed with him.

"The (Chinese) Foreign Minister will come here and we will of course express some kind of disappointment ... saying that we expected more from them," a news agency quoted Narayanan as saying.

He said he was sure the visiting Foreign Minister will have his own explanation on the issue.

China 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.

Pointing out that Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao had told Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh that they would never be a part of the problem and never create difficulties for India, Narayanan said: "We were a little surprised about China. The opposition is not ideological like the group of six countries that have a long non proliferation roots."

Narayanan said: "We are not a one issue government and just because China did not support India, we are not going to have problems with them."

"We cannot choose our neighbours. We have China and Pakistan as neighbours and with both of them we desire to have the best of relations," he added.

Though India has had problems with China in many ways, the bilateral relations have vastly improved in the last few years, the NSA maintained.

The intense US pressure and last minute contact at the highest political level is said to have stopped Beijing from blocking the waiver.

Recently an editorial in the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, the People's Daily, said the deal posed a "major blow" to international nonproliferation.

ANI