Srinivas_K
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2009
- Messages
- 7,420
- Likes
- 12,945
#dnaEdit: China and Pakistan can be irritants for India, but never hurdles
Beijing indicates that it is opposed to India becoming a member of Nuclear Suppliers Group, while the US firmly backs Delhi’s bid to enter the exclusive club.
China has done it again. It has stated its position opposing India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which facilitates trade especially in uranium. Last month, China had opposed the Indian plea that the United Nations should place Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) leader Azhar Masood on the terrorists’ list, saying that there was not enough evidence against the Islamic militant. In the latest instance too Beijing has given it the colouring of a principle by stating that it is opposed to any country which has not signed either the ).Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or the Comprehensive Ban Treaty (CBT The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang has said that China was not alone in objecting to India’s membership in the group, and that there were other member-countries of the NSG who held the same view. Pakistan too has objected to India being admitted to the NSG. It seems that at the moment it is the United States that is openly and vigorously supporting India’s case.
There is then a pattern to China’s position in the international fora with regard to India. China’s tacit argument is that if India is admitted to NSG, then so should be Pakistan and North Korea. Beijing tries to block India wherever and whenever it can, something that Pakistan does too. The difference between Islamabad and Beijing is this. While Islamabad takes a stand against India, it does not carry the same weight that it does when China takes up a similar position. It is no secret that China sticks up for Pakistan almost always in any matter that relates to India.
More than the Indian government, it is the opinion-makers in India who seem to be rattled by the Chinese position. They are indignant that China is equating the Pakistan case with that of India. Much worse, that China should argue the case on behalf of North Korea as well. There was a time, of course before the India-US civil nuclear deal, that Washington too treated New Delhi and Islamabad on the same footing, which would irritate India no end. The US attitude changed after Washington could not any longer ignore the presence of terrorists in Pakistan, especially after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the US. So India will have to grin and bear China’s pin-pricks.
China’s position does not mean that Beijing is anti-India, or that it is not business as usual between the two countries. China looks to India to invest and increase its exports even as it continues to deepen its economic and strategic ties with Pakistan. It would seem that India is following the same tactic when it joins hands with China’s rivals in South China Sea, however indirectly. Beijing is aware of the Indian position and it finds ways to strike back, mostly indirectly.
It is unlikely that China, or for that matter Pakistan, will ever turn the tide of opinion against India, especially in the West. The US and the European powers are opposed to China for ideological reasons. Pakistan has lost its importance on the strategic radar of the West as it is seen as part of the global terrorist network. India is seen as a safe bet in economic and political terms because it is an open economy with a huge market and it is a democracy. China and Pakistan can be irritants but they can never be hurdles. Not any more.
http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/ed...irritants-for-india-but-never-hurdles-2213264
Beijing indicates that it is opposed to India becoming a member of Nuclear Suppliers Group, while the US firmly backs Delhi’s bid to enter the exclusive club.
China has done it again. It has stated its position opposing India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which facilitates trade especially in uranium. Last month, China had opposed the Indian plea that the United Nations should place Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) leader Azhar Masood on the terrorists’ list, saying that there was not enough evidence against the Islamic militant. In the latest instance too Beijing has given it the colouring of a principle by stating that it is opposed to any country which has not signed either the ).Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or the Comprehensive Ban Treaty (CBT The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang has said that China was not alone in objecting to India’s membership in the group, and that there were other member-countries of the NSG who held the same view. Pakistan too has objected to India being admitted to the NSG. It seems that at the moment it is the United States that is openly and vigorously supporting India’s case.
There is then a pattern to China’s position in the international fora with regard to India. China’s tacit argument is that if India is admitted to NSG, then so should be Pakistan and North Korea. Beijing tries to block India wherever and whenever it can, something that Pakistan does too. The difference between Islamabad and Beijing is this. While Islamabad takes a stand against India, it does not carry the same weight that it does when China takes up a similar position. It is no secret that China sticks up for Pakistan almost always in any matter that relates to India.
More than the Indian government, it is the opinion-makers in India who seem to be rattled by the Chinese position. They are indignant that China is equating the Pakistan case with that of India. Much worse, that China should argue the case on behalf of North Korea as well. There was a time, of course before the India-US civil nuclear deal, that Washington too treated New Delhi and Islamabad on the same footing, which would irritate India no end. The US attitude changed after Washington could not any longer ignore the presence of terrorists in Pakistan, especially after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the US. So India will have to grin and bear China’s pin-pricks.
China’s position does not mean that Beijing is anti-India, or that it is not business as usual between the two countries. China looks to India to invest and increase its exports even as it continues to deepen its economic and strategic ties with Pakistan. It would seem that India is following the same tactic when it joins hands with China’s rivals in South China Sea, however indirectly. Beijing is aware of the Indian position and it finds ways to strike back, mostly indirectly.
It is unlikely that China, or for that matter Pakistan, will ever turn the tide of opinion against India, especially in the West. The US and the European powers are opposed to China for ideological reasons. Pakistan has lost its importance on the strategic radar of the West as it is seen as part of the global terrorist network. India is seen as a safe bet in economic and political terms because it is an open economy with a huge market and it is a democracy. China and Pakistan can be irritants but they can never be hurdles. Not any more.
http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/ed...irritants-for-india-but-never-hurdles-2213264
