In the run-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival in the US, the New York Times actively called on US President Barack Obama to resist backing India’s application for membership at the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG). The meeting where India’s application will be assessed, will take place in Vienna on 8-9 June.
Reportedly, one of the agendas of Modi’s US visit is to bolster India’s bid for NSG membership. India submitted its formal application to join the 48-nation group a few weeks before this 5-nation tour.
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In an editorial titled ‘No Exceptions for a Nuclear India’, the publication said that the US’ relationship with India rests on a “dangerous bargain”.
For years, the United States has sought to bend the rules for India’s nuclear program to maintain India’s cooperation on trade and to counter China’s growing influence. In 2008, President George W Bush signed a civilian nuclear deal with India that allowed it to trade in nuclear materials. This has encouraged Pakistan to keep expanding a nuclear weapons program that is already the fastest growing in the world.An excerpt from the New York Times article
The article goes on to add that India’s membership in the group would make the country more powerful as a nuclear weapons state, but cautions that India does not “merit” such power, not having met NSG’s standards yet.
It presents a list of reasons that would make India a dangerous entry into the nuclear group, the most crucial of which is India’s refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
For India, membership in the NSG is important for two immediate reasons. India must be part of the group to meet its climate change agenda of targeting 40 percent non-fossil fuels in the country’s “energy mix”. Besides, India’s membership in the NSG will automatically mean that business opportunities for India will be more or less stable, regardless of change in governments, according to an Economic Times report.
Whether or not the editorial is justified in cautioning the Obama government against supporting India’s entry into the group, the fact remains that it would be one of the biggest diplomatic moves, globally. The world is looking on with bated breath to see if India finally makes it to the coveted group.
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