China, Pakistan Block India's Entry Into Nuclear Suppliers Group - Sources

The sources pointed to the fact that when India requested a session with the NSG participating governments at the recent NSG Consultative Group meeting on April 25 and 26, where it would have made a formal presentation in support of its membership, Pakistan also sought a similar opportunity. Though being aware that its request would not be accepted, Pakistan made it in order for China to look "neutral" and reject both applications on grounds of parity.

Sources from the US expressed their disappointment with China's tactics of "using Pakistan's non credentials with the NSG to settle scores with India." The "either both or none" strategy is not a secret; it was coordinated during the visit of Pakistan's President Mamnoon Hussain to China in November 2015. According to sources, the Chinese government told President Hussain that if India is allowed into the NSG, China would ensure that Pakistan also gets its membership in the group. However, "if India is allowed to join the NSG and Pakistan is deprived of NSG membership, Beijing will veto the move and block the Indian entry."

India's non-proliferation credentials are not comparable with Pakistan's, as Pakistan has a history of "selling nuclear technology to rogue states like Libya," the sources noted. Moreover, the West fears that Pakistan's nuclear weapons could easily find their way into the hands of terrorists. China knows that Pakistan does not stand a chance at the NSG, and most of the NSG members will reject its application. Nevertheless, that did not stop Beijing from using Pakistan as a "parity token to stop India which is fast emerging as China's competitor," added the sources.

Giving further insight into the plan, US sources added that China "would be naive to expect that there won't be an Indian reaction, and especially a commercial one, as China is mindful that India is fully qualified to join the NSG, and by playing the ‘Pakistan parity card,' China is only hurting its own interests with an upcoming economic power, India."

The NSG is a group of 48 nuclear supplier countries and was established in 1975 to control the export and re-transfer of materials used in the production of nuclear weapons.