China on Monday offered cautious backing to India-Japan nuclear deal, stating that every country has the right to use nuclear energy provided they fulfill all the non-proliferation obligations set by the international community.

The historic nuclear deal was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Tokyo last week.

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"With regard to nuclear agreement signed between India and Japan and on the use nuclear energy, we believe that under the promise of absorbing international obligation of nuclear non-proliferation, all countries are entitled to the peaceful use of nuclear energy," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told media briefing in Beijing.

Geng, however, made no reference to Chinese media's criticism about the nuclear deal and Japan's commitment to non-proliferation. Tokyo traditionally has taken a tough stance on non-proliferation, mainly because it is the only country in the world till date that has been bombed by a nuclear bomb.

In that context, Japanese government made a special exception for India last week, since New Delhi is not a signatory to Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT).  India last week became the first non-NPT country to sign a nuclear deal with Japan.  

China, on other hand, is no mood to make any concession on India's membership bid for Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG). It continues to maintain a hardened stance that New Delhi must sign NPT to become member of NSG.

 India Reacts Mildly to Inclusion of Maritime Dispute in Joint Statement 

On inclusion of South China Sea in the joint statement, China chose to react mildly on the issue. It urged that countries that are not clamant to the dispute must work towards creating conducive environment in the region.

"We hope that the countries outside the region would respect efforts made by countries in the region and safeguard as well as consolidate the sound momentum in the South China Sea and and do more that is conducive to regional peace and stability," Geng said.

Beijing was largely expecting inclusion of the South China Sea dispute in the joint statement, since recent signals suggested that the Indian government will henceforth take an aggressive stance on the maritime dispute.        

The aggressive stance is seen as New Delhi's direct response to China's decision to snub India on Masood Azhar and NSG issues, allegedly at the behest of Pakistan. 

The snub put a considerable strain on both countries bilateral relationship, with widespread street protest following across India. The protestors accused that China is a main traitor, aligning with India's enemy - Pakistan - and helping the enemy nation in fulfilling its nefarious design against New Delhi.       

Several Indian leaders also called for boycott of Chinese goods during Diwali festival. The boycott call reportedly led to substantial decline in the sale of Chinese across Indian cities.

However, these boycott calls and widespread street protest have had little impact on China's stance, as China's stand on NSG and Masood Azhar issue remains unchanged.    

TagsIndia, China and India, India and Japan Nuclear Deal, India and Japan