Revision as of 21:58, 6 August 2016

The Nuclear Suppliers’ Group, India’s application for membership and Chinese opposition. (June 2016); Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, June 4, 2016

Nuclear club, why India wants to be in NSG; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India

Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG): the essential facts

The Times of India, May 28, 2016

(Compiled by: Ankita Rajeshwari)

The NSG and China's opposition to India's entry in it has been in the news recently. Here's all you need to know about this body and India's position in it:

'What is NSG?

The NSG is an international organisation that aims to control proliferation of nuclear weapons. This 48-member body was established to prevent civilian nuclear trade from being used for military purposes. It was formed by the signatories to the non-proliferation treaty (NPT). Though the NSG has been open to admitting new members to its clan, the group has so far opened its doors only to nations that are part of the NPT or Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). India has signed neither the NPT nor the CTBT.

Why was it formed and what was its objective?

The NSG was founded in reaction to the Indian nuclear test in May 1974. The main objective of the body, to begin with, was to make sure that the nuclear energy was used only for peaceful purposes and not for weapon-making.

India, Pakistan, Israel and South Sudan are among four UN member states which have not signed the NPT, the international pact aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.

Membership of NSG helps ease the transfer of technology, raw materials among the participant countries and US companies.

Where does India stand in the NSG?

In July 2006, the United States Congress amended US laws to allow civilian nuclear trade with India.

In 2008, the NSG participating governments agreed to grant India a "clean waiver" from its existing rules, which forbid nuclear trade with a country which has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

In November 2010, President Barack Obama announced US support to India's participation in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

In January 2015, during his India visit, Obama said that India was ready for the NSG membership.

China's foreign ministry offered conditional support for Indian membership in the NSG.

Pakistan applied for the NSG membership in May 2016, probably to block India's entry into the group.

What is the recent development?

After world's superpowers gave a nod to India's entry into the nuclear group, China came out in the open to oppose the move.

Why is China opposing India's entry?

China has opposed India's bid to get NSG membership on the ground that it was yet to sign the NPT.

At the same time, China has been lobbying for Pakistan's entry into the group.

Benefits for India by getting NSG membership

The Times of India, Jun 11, 2016

No decision was taken on India's entry to the Nuclear Supplier's Group (NSG) at a meeting of its members in Vienna. While Switzerland and Mexico this week joined the US in supporting India's bid to become an NSG member, China is still fighting it tooth and nail. What is China afraid of and how will NSG membership help India? Here are 6 examples that show how India will benefit. After years of being in the doghouse for going nuclear - with the 1974 Pokhran test - India finally got some relief when the US relented and agreed to a civil nuclear deal with India in 2008. This made India eligible to receive advanced nuclear technologies that could be used to enrich uranium and/or reprocess plutonium. This has helped India a lot. However, such access is restricted to American technologies. Membership to the NSG will essentially increase India's access to state-of-the-art technology from the other 47 members of the Group, as well.

Being a member of the NSG will also mean that India will have far greater access to uranium than it does currently under its 2008 agreement with the US. For example, Namibia is the fourth-largest producer of uranium and it agreed to sell the nuclear fuel to India in 2009. However, that hasn't happened, as Namibia has since cited a 2009 African version of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Pelindaba Treaty, which essentially controls the supply of uranium from Africa to the rest of the world. If India joins the NSG, such reservations from Namibia are expected to melt away.

Libya's then foreign minister Omar Montasser signing the Pelindaba treaty on April 11, 1996. (Reuters photo) NSG membership also means India can begin to commercially produce nuclear power equipment, which it can then even sell to other countries. With access to state-of-the-art nuclear technologies, it can maximize its production benefits.

Shakti Sthal at Pokhran, the site of India's 1st nuclear test in 1974 and the 2nd one in 1998. (Reuters photo) Access to technology and being allowed to produce nuclear equipment will give a boost to the Make in India programme announced by PM Modi. That will boost economic growth in India, create more jobs and even lead to a whole new IT-industry segment that India can leverage.

With India committed to meeting its climate change goals by reducing dependence on fossil fuels, India needs to step up nuclear power production. NSG membership will help India greatly in doing so. In 2008, India did a get a one-time waiver from the NSG that allowed it to buy nuclear power plants from the global market. Still, being out of the elite NSG group has meant that many latest technologies are still out of its reach as it is the NSG members that have the latest and the most efficient technology.

Last but not least, if India gets NSG membership, it can prevent Pakistan from getting it, very similar to the manner in which China is blocking India from becoming a member.

India’s diplomatic efforts

The Times of India, Jun 3, 2016

Indrani Bagchi

India submitted its formal application for NSG membership on May 12, armed with over 200 documents, an exercise that culminated almost seven years of intensive engagement with the nuclear group.

With the NSG being an informal grouping whose decisions are based on consensus, India has walked an intensive diplomatic journey engaging stakeholders in a reprise of its efforts 8 years ago. While the core of the opposition to India's bid remains the same in 2016 as it was in 2008, a number of other countries have already swung in India's favour.

For instance, the Scandinavian countries who led a lot of the opposition in 2008, have been more supportive. PM reached out to Ireland in 2015 with his bilateral visit. He met with John Key, the New Zealand PM on the sidelines of the nuclear security summit in March, as well as sensitising the European and Belgian leadership. Austria, which was so reluctant in 2008 has been more understanding this time round. Foreign secretary S. Jaishankar made a quick trip to South Korea and Japan a few weeks ago to engage them. In the past few weeks, PM has reportedly made a number of calls to other NSG members. In the last few days before the meeting, he will personally reach out to the Swiss and Mexican leadership. Switzerland had been a big voice of opposition in 2008. No one is sure whether this will be enough. The US led the entire campaign to get a waiver for India in 2008, but while it has promised support this time, it's not the same. The US and China are more opposed to each other today than they were in 2008. No one is certain whether Obama would be willing to do the heavy lifting inside the group as Bush did. India is having to do a lot of the work itself, but this has been an easier exercise this time. For the past few years, India has assiduously worked through the points of objection by NSG and US. Since 2010 nuclear liability law slowed down US-India nuclear engagement. The nuclear deal itself could not be operationalised, neither could the remaining agreements between the two sides. India had also decided it wanted to enter all four non-proliferation regimes all at once, which meant slowdown in one affected all four. The Modi government, despite being nuclear sceptics, has moved fairly quickly. In January 2015, India and US signed an "understanding" on completing the nuclear deal, in order to begin unraveling the knotty legacy. The government closed the loop on the liability law by engaging the suppliers, working out a nuclear insurance pool that would help both operator (NPCIL) and suppliers cover their risk. They completed the administration arrangements with the US, the last remaining pact under the deal. India also completed the additional protocol and ratification of CSC. The government unbundled the applications - NSG and MTCR are priority, followed by Waasenaar and Australia Group. With the first US nuclear company, Westinghouse moving close to signing the first commercial contract for six reactors in Andhra Pradesh, India has checked all the boxes. India's keenness to join now has a lot to do with its quest for more clean energy in its energy mix as well as wanting to spark nuclear manufacturing and become a nuclear supplier. Confirming this, foreign secretary S. Jaishankar told journalists "We are looking at major expansion of domestic nuclear power sector and international collaboration. Getting us into the NSG would help facilitate nuclear trade. We want our own industry to be compliant With the existing global rules and regulations" which is done best if India is a member. "Merits of joining NSG derives from substantial expansion of nuclear energy segment," Jaishankar said. "We will also become serious nuclear exporter. We have a solid record, world is comfortable with us." Since the 2008 waiver, India, he said, had fulfilled all its promises to NSG and IAEA. In 2008, as now, India's opposition was centred in China, who influenced several countries, Austria, New Zealand and Ireland among them to remain as the last opposition to the waiver exercise. It took a midnight phone call from Condoleezza Rice to Chinese president Hu Jintao to bring back Chinese diplomats to the meeting which they had walked out of, and voted a reluctant 'yes'.

China is more aggressive this time, and along with asking Pakistan to apply for the same NSG membership has, in the past few weeks even linked NSG membership with India signing the NPT, knowing fully that India would only join it as a nuclear weapons state. On May 25, Pakistan's Ambassador to Austria Ayesha Riyaz in Vienna formally applied for Pakistan's membership of the NSG with a letter stating Pakistan's positive nuclear safety record and efforts to curb nuclear proliferation. Former Indian diplomat Sheel Kant Sharma wrote, "the Safeguards Agreement that China signed with the IAEA in 1988, INFCIRC/369, was a voluntary offer agreement along the lines of those done by the other P5 states i.e. nuclear weapon states. However, in contrast with other P5, China makes no mention of NPT in INFCIRC/369. ... China's subsequent agreement with the IAEA in 1998, which was an Additional Protocol to its 1988 safeguards agreement, even that makes no mention of NPT or China's commitment thereto. Thus even the legal commitments of China with the IAEA are bereft of any NPT reference while all other P5 make it a point to refer to the Treaty."

China's opposition to India is therefore a political one. Pakistan is not a serious contender, but it will depend on how far China is willing to take this. Also it's not clear what happens when China is the last man standing against India's membership. Ultimately, no one is certain how far the US is willing to push for India within the grouping. Jaishankar said on Friday, India had made a very good case for its membership, the NSG should accept it. This is about a lot more.

Countries supporting and opposing India

US support

The Times of India, Jun 22, 2016

Chidanand Rajghatta

The Obama administration again put its weight behind India's admission to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, calling on member sates to support New Delhi's application even as China, the main hurdle, appeared to soften its position. The administration used both its White House and state department pulpits to voice its support for India's membership as the 48-country cartel began its plenary session in Seoul. "India is ready for membership. And the United States calls on participating governments to support India's application," President Barack Obama's spokesman Josh Earnest said at his daily briefing.

"We continue to call — and nothing's changed about our position — on participating governments of NSG to support India's application at the plenary session this week in Seoul," echoed state department spokesperson John Kirby. He said India's application is "something about which we have routinely talked to other NSG members", and it is "not a new topic of discussion that we've had privately with the members," suggesting that Washington had done its spadework and left it to New Delhi to convince Beijing, believed to be the lone, or at least the principle, holdout. Earnest said the White House has made its views known both publicly and privately, and "we'll continue to do so in advance of the meeting this week," indicating that President Obama might still weigh in if needed. "Participating governments will need to reach a consensus decision in order to admit any applicant into the group. And the US will certainly be advocating for India's membership," he said.

In Beijing, Chinese spokespersons and government proxies went into contortions to explain their opposition to India's bid, sometimes pointing to the "principle" of only signatories of the Non-Proliferation Treaty being entertained as members, and pointing to the US for setting up the rule. "The door is open for the admission of the non-NPT members. It is never closed. But the members of the NSG should stay focused on whether the criteria should be changed and whether non-NPT members should be admitted into the NSG," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters at a media briefing on Tuesday, indicating that Beijing is open to negotiations on the issue. Some sources have suggested that eventually it will boil down to a modus vivendi between Washington, Beijing and New Delhi to make an accommodation through back channel talks that will include finessing positions about their respective roles in Asia Pacific, South China Sea and the Indian Ocean Region. This is not just about NSG membership; it will be about a lot more, sources said.

US asks NSG members to support India

The Times of India, Jun 21, 2016

The US asked the members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to consider and support India's application to join the grouping during their plenary meeting in Seoul. "We believe, and this has been US policy for some time, that India is ready for membership and the United States calls on participating governments to support India's application at the plenary session of NSG later this week," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference. "At same time, participating governments will need to reach a consensus decision in order to admit any applicant into the group, and the United States will certainly be advocating for India's membership," Earnest said on the eve of the 48-member grouping's plenary meeting in Seoul. His comments came after China has said that India's membership is not on the agenda of the NSG meeting. US President Barack Obama, Earnest said, had an opportunity to discuss this issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was at the White House early this month, he said. "The United States, as you know, strongly supports India's application to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group," Earnest said. "We have made our views known both publicly and privately, and we'll continue to do so in advance of the meeting this week," Earnest said when asked if the US has reached out to members of the NSG in support of India's application. At a separate news conference, the State Department reiterated the same. "As you know, during Prime Minister Modi's visit, the President welcomed India's application to join the NSG and reaffirmed that India is ready for membership. We continue to call on the participating governments, the NSG, to support India's application at the plenary session this week itself," State Department Spokesman John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference.

Canada supports India

The Times of India, June 20, 2016

Sachin Parashar

NSG will be strengthened if India joins: Canada

Highlights

Canada has said the presence of India in the exclusive nuclear club will actually strengthen the Group’s export controls

Canada had entered into a civil nuclear agreement with India based on the 2008 clean waiver to India

Canada’s acting high commissioner Jess Dutton has said Canada is trying to create consensus on India's entry to NSG

At a time when questions are being raised about India's non-proliferation credentials, one of world's leading proponents of the international non-proliferation regime, Canada, has come out openly in support of India saying that the presence of India in the exclusive nuclear club will actually strengthen the Group's export controls. Ahead of the NSG plenary later this week in Seoul, Canada also said that it was encouraging all NSG members to join in the consensus needed to achieve this objective "at the earliest possible date. "India's role in international nuclear commerce is bound to keep growing in strength as the size of India's fleet of nuclear power plant, already one of the world`s largest, rapidly increases, Canada's acting high commissioner Jess Dutton Monday told TOI. "As such, we believe India's membership in the NSG will reinforce the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, he added. Dutton's remarks to TOI came on a day China claimed that the issue of India's NSG membership wasn't even on the agenda for the Seoul meeting of the 48-nation Group. Dutton said Canada was working actively to create a consensus for India's membership. "The NSG stands to benefit from the active participation of Indian technical specialists in helping the Group strengthen the international control of nuclear goods and technologies and help strengthen domestic controls on nuclear exports, said Dutton, adding that India was ready to become an active member of NSG. Canada entered into a civil nuclear agreement with India based on the 2008 clean waiver to India by the NSG for nuclear trade despite New Delhi not having signed NPT. Canada is now a significant source of uranium for India. Unlike in the case with a few other members of the Group who had supported India in 2008, Canada's support to India and its acknowledgement of India's non-proliferation credentials remain unwavering despite it regarding NPT as the mainstay of its policy to promote disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

"Given its nuclear non-proliferation credentials, we believe India has demonstrated that it is ready to become an active and constructive member of the NSG. We strongly encourage all NSG members to join in the consensus needed to achieve this objective, at the earliest possible date, said Dutton. Canada's voice carries a lot of weight with many other members of NSG who regularly profess commitment to NPT as the cornerstone of their disarmament and non-proliferation policies. Canada was also one of the 7 original members of NSG which itself was formed in 1975 as a reaction to India's nuclear testing the previous year. The plutonium which India used for its 1974 nuclear test was sourced from a reactor supplied by Canada.

Canada is also an important member of the Vienna Group of Ten, a group of 10 "like-minded countries who work together on issues related to NPT and all of which are members of NSG. At least 3 members of this Group - New Zealand, Austria and Ireland - are said to have reservations about allowing India as a non NPT signatory into the NSG. In the NSG meeting though in Vienna earlier this month, some of these countries were said to have relented a bit as they sought a process for inclusion of non-NPT states and not a one-time exception for any country. Dutton said Canada had been a strong supporter of Indian membership in the NSG for many years and had been actively engaged in efforts to create the consensus required to allow India to join the Group. "We welcomed India`s recent application for membership, as well as its formal adherence to the NSG Guidelines in mid-May of this year," he said.

Swiss flip flop

The Times of India, June 7, 2016

Sheila Mathrani & Indrani Bagchi

Swiss back India's pitch for NSG seat

Switzerland had been less than enthusiastic in the past about India's NSG candidacy. Its support adds to the ranks of India-backers who implicitly reject China's argument that non-signatories of nonproliferation treaty, meaning India and Pakistan, be considered on a par. We promised India support in its efforts to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the process has started," the Swiss President said.

However, noting that NPT is never far from their minds, Schneider-Ammann said they wanted everyone to sign the NPT. But this is a stand that Switzerland has held for many years. India's request has been that Switzerland's support to India's NSG membership is not at odds with its non-proliferation commitments. The terms of the India-US nuclear deal that separates India's strategic and civil nuclear energy programmes, acceptance of international safeguards for non-military installations and a unilateral moratorium on nuclear tests are seen to bolster the argument that making India part of NSG will strengthen, not weaken, non-proliferation.

India and Switzerland also agreed to support each other's bid for non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council. India has pitched for a UNSC non-permanent membership in 2021, while Switzerland wants to be there in 2023.

Both nations have decided to restart free-trade negotiations with EFTA countries - Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland. State secretary Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch will visit India this week in this connection.

Switzerland takes U-turn on its support to India's NSG bid

Taking a U-turn from its earlier stand, Switzerland on Friday joined the group of countries opposing India's bid for NSG. This is a shocker for India as the country had pledged full support to India's bid when Prime Minister Modi visited the country

China’s game

The Times of India, Jun 27, 2016

Shailaja Neelakantan

Fact 1 : India isn't a member of the elite 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), but arch-rival China is.

Fact 2 : India is a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), but arch-rival China isn't.

Fact 3 : Both countries want what they don't have.

And therein lies a tale.

China desperately wants into the MTCR and it very likely opposed India's NSG bid for that reason - a quid pro quo. "Allow us into the MTCR and we will not oppose India's entry into the NSG", might well have been what China was whispering into ears that mattered.

China's proliferation record

Consider that in 2004, China applied for MTCR membership but was denied it because members considered its non-proliferation record dodgy.

"They're not there yet", a U.S. government official told Arms Control Today (ACT) in October, 2004, about China's eligibility. (Arms Control Today is a publication of the US-based non-partisan organization Arms Control Association.) MTRC members were concerned that Chinese entities continued to provide sensitive technologies to countries developing ballistic missiles, such as North Korea, the publication said. And since the MTRC aims to limit the spread of ballistic missiles and other unmanned delivery systems - that could be used for chemical, biological, and nuclear attacks - selling to

North Korea is a definite no-no

Weeks before the October 2004 meeting, the US imposed proliferation sanctions on eight Chinese companies, ACT reported. "One of those, Xinshidai, was specifically accused of missile proliferation. The others, two of which the Bush administration previously penalized for missile proliferation, were punished for unspecified deals with Iran..." ACT reported.

China in the NSG

Interestingly, that very year, in May 2004, China gained membership to the NSG, despite the opposition by several US lawmakers - both Republicans and Democrats - who were overruled by US President George W Bush. One Republican lawmaker called China one of the world's "principal sinners" when it comes to proliferation, and a Democrat said he had a "deep distrust" of China. In retrospect, it appears that the refusal to give China MTCR membership was an attempt to set the nuclear balance right, what with China having gained NSG membership earlier that year.

India's MTRC gains

MTCR membership will enable India to buy high-end missile technology and also enhance its joint ventures with Russia, specifically the BrahMos. A few countries, including Vietnam, have already shown interest in buying Brahmos. India will also be able to buy surveillance drones from other countries like the American Predator drones. In addition, the US, too, might consider exporting to India Unmanned Aerial Vehicles like the Reaper and the Global Hawk. A senior US administration official said about India: Membership of MTCR "permits India to continue to advance its non-proliferation leadership in the world and contribute to that regime, to limit missile proliferation in the world".

China promises 'constructive role'

The Times of India, June 22, 2016

Will play 'constructive role' in India's NSG bid: China

China said it will play a "constructive" role in the discussions on India's bid for membership of the 48-member NSG but at the same maintained that the issue was not on the agenda of the NSG meeting in Seoul.

China rebuts India's France NPT argument

The Times of India, May 23, 2016

NSG membership: China rebuts India's France argument

China rebutted India's assertion that France was included in the Nuclear Suppliers Group without signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty, saying France was a founder member of the elite group and so the issue of accepting its membership does not arise. China says No, links India's NSG case with North Korea and Iran Despite PM reaching out to China, deadlock continues on India's NSG bid

Pakistan’s efforts against India

The Times of India, June 21, 2016

Pak claims 'success' in thwarting India's NSG bid

Pakistan Prime Minister's adviser on foreign affairs, Sartaj Aziz, said on Tuesday that Islamabad was "making successful efforts" against New Delhi's bid to enter the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Pakistan has a strong case to gain NSG membership on merit

Either Pakistan is lying or China is

The Times of India, Jun 23, 2016

Shyam Balasubramanian

Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for his government's support for Islamabad's bid at membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). However, Hussain's comment flies straight in the face of the Chinese position on the issue. The Chinese government-run Global Times newspaper had carried an article on Tuesday, opposing the entry of both India and Pakistan to the NSG, a line at odds with the Pakistan President's talk of support from Beijing. Hussain and Xi met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tashkent, on a day the Chinese President is also set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Only granting India the membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group will shift the balance of power," Hussain said, reported Pakistani news outlet Geo TV. China has maintained its opposition to India's NSG membership bid on the grounds that it is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Neither is Pakistan.

China has been walking a very fine line against India's membership to the NSG, and has found itself increasingly isolated. Not only has India lobbied the NSG nations, but the US too has thrown its heft behind New Delhi. While the basis of India's membership bid has been its clean non-proliferation record, US officials revealed on Wednesday that Pakistan continues to proliferate nuclear materials and technology to North Korea. China's stand against India has also focused on its questions over the future of the world's nuclear order, if 'illegitimate' nuclear states like India or Pakistan are allowed to join the global nuclear trading regime. Even as it has said all this, Beijing has repeatedly stated its official line, that China does not oppose India's bid for membership to the NSG. Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

China’s pyrrhic victory: China 4 vs. India 44

The Times of India, Jun 30, 2016

China pulls up chief negotiator for limited global support for anti-India position at NSG

The Chinese leadership has pulled up Wang Qun, its lead negotiator and Director General of the Arms Control Division at the Foreign Ministry, for failing to drum up significant global support for China's position in Seoul which blocked India's entry into the NSG .

Highly placed Western and Chinese sources said that Wang Qun had told Beijing that at least one third of the NSG nations would endorse China's position. However, the position was totally in the reverse, with as many as 44 nations backing India and China only having the support of four nations.

UNCLOS: Philippines vs. China in the South China Sea

Beijing now fears that the fallout of the NSG outcome could have an impact on a crucial verdict expected soon from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in a case brought by the Philippines concerning China's territorial reclamation activities in the South China Sea .

As things stand, Beijing's stance flies in the face of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of which it is a signatory. China's big fear now is India could use the same ploy that Beijing used in Seoul at the NSG plenary and back The Hague Court's decision which is likely to go against China.

Highly-placed sources said that the global support for India's position at the NSG could well be leveraged by New Delhi to back the enforcement of The Hague Judgment - a scenario which could isolate China and could even trigger its exit from UNCLOS.

China has launched a worldwide propaganda campaign enlisting academics, legal experts, diplomats and foreign governments stating that such legal proceedings are invalid. But this position of China's is contrary to the rules laid out by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of which China is a signatory. China claims that it has the support of 60 nations who believe that arbitration at The Hague is illegal.

China's worry now is that post its inability to generate global support for its anti-India position on NSG at Seoul, its position at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague could meet the same fate, and this time, it could have to pay a very heavy price.

See also

Nuclear energy: India