As Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from a successful trip to the United States where he addressed the Congress, Washington has expressed its strong support for India's entry into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), whose members can trade in and export nuclear technology.
India has also gained entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime, but Chine remains adamant on its stance in opposing India's entry into the NSG. As a result, the issue is now the latest battleground in the growing Chinese-Indian friction. With India's push for admission into the NSG gaining momentum ahead of the group's annual plenary session this month, Beijing is making it clear that it intends to make life difficult for New Delhi. China has relied on an obstructionist argument and has called for further discussion on whether "India and other countries" who have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty can join the NSG.
Where the U.S. and other supporting members have called for India's inclusion, based on New Delhi's nonproliferation track record and the U.S.-India civil nuclear accord, China has made the NPT signature its central argument for scuttling India's' entry. Beijing is claiming that a "compulsory" requirement for NSG membership is that "the NSG members must be signatories to the NPT."