India's bid to become member of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) met a dead end on Friday, as China and at least seven other countries blocked consensus at NSG's plenary meeting in Seoul, South Korea.

The opposing countries, led by China, stood by their tough stance that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the "cornerstone" of the international non-proliferation regime and therefore Non-NPT members like India cannot join the elite nuclear club.

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China's refusal to budge from its tough stance meant that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with his Chinese counterpart in Tashkent on Thursday proved to be a futile exercise. India was counting on this meeting to persuade China to change its stance.

China's chief negotiator at the NSG told reporters that the group would not bend the rules for India's inclusion into nuclear the club.

"Applicant countries must be signatories of the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons," said Wang Qun, the head of arms control department in China's foreign ministry. "This is a pillar, not something that China set. It is universally recognised by the international community."                

Disappointed with the outcome of the plenary meeting, Indian minister Vikas Swarup said that "procedural hurdles were persistently raised by one country," making a sharp but veiled reference to China.

Some sources claimed that India was surprised by the U-turn made by Mexico, Switzerland, and Brazil, which strengthened the Chinese bloc further. The three countries had assured New Delhi of their support, but at the plenary meeting they pressed for a "criteria-based process" for allowing non-NPT members into NSG.

China also got support from other prominent countries such as Ireland, Austria, and New Zealand, with whom India was trying to negotiate through closed-door diplomacy. India had specifically sought the support of Ireland and New Zealand when the Indian prime minister and president visited both countries earlier this year.           

However, reports in Indian media claimed that India's chances of securing NSG membership is still not over. India's NSG membership might be taken up again in the "special plenary" meeting that is likely to happen in November this year. There was a specific mention of "special plenary meeting" in the official statement released by NSG, Indian media claimed.

TagsIndia, china, NSG, India and China