NSG bid: Can India break the Great Wall of China

New Delhi, June 24: It was said on Wednesday that a decision on India's entry into the NSG would boil down to the wire. After a tense day in Seoul where the 48 member NSG met, India managed to bag the support of over 30 nations. The NSG works on a consensus and China can veto India's entry into the NSG.

China held up the meeting for nearly 5 hours in the morning using a procedural block. However it conceded after the meeting decided to consider the technical and legal issues with regard to the entry of non NPT members.

China isolated:

Despite an appeal by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Beijing remained adamant. It was Japan which raised India's membership during the meeting. The same was seconded by Argentina.

Following this 30 members declared support citing India's nuclear nonproliferation record. Brazil, South Africa too backed India's bid. While Austria, Switzerland and Ireland supported India, they sought to know how the process would be undertaken.

China however continued to stick to its point. It said that an entry into the NSG must be limited to only those nations that have signed the NPT. The meeting ended last night with the representatives being told to contact their governments for further instructions. The plenary will be held today and a decision on India's entry into the NSG will be finalised.

OneIndia News