With inputs from Agencies

US disagrees completely with China, says India ready to be in Nuclear Suppliers Group

WASHINGTON: China and Pakistan may not agree, but the United States believes - completely - that India is ready to enter the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).Hours after China defended its blocking India from becoming part of the NSG, the US on Friday said that India does in fact meet the missile technology control regime requirements for entry into the NSG.In fact, State Department Spokesman John Kirby last night reminded the media that US President Barack Obama said as much in 2015."I'd point you back to what the President said during his visit to India in 2015, where he reaffirmed that the US view was that India meets missile technology control regime requirements and is ready for NSG membership," Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference.Kirby's remarks yesterday about India's eligibility for the NSG came in response to a question about reports that China and Pakistan have joined hands to oppose India becoming a member of the NSG."I'm going to refer you to the governments of China and Pakistan with respect to their positions on India's membership," Kirby said.US sources recently told news agency ANI that they are disappointed with Chinese tactics of "using Pakistan's non credentials with the NSG to settle scores with India".China made claims yesterday that many members of the 48-nation NSG share its view that signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is an "important" standard for the group's expansion.They said that India's non-proliferation credentials can never be compared with Pakistan's, as Pakistan has a history of "selling Nuclear technology to rogue states like Libya". They point to the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, Dr A.Q. Khan, and his global nuclear trade.The NSG is a body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials used to make weapons.The NPT is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology.India has said it won't ever join the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state, because those weapons are integral to its security. In addition, India has maintained that the NPT is very discriminatory.Aside from India, Pakistan, Israel and South Sudan are among four UN member states that have not signed the NPT.In fact, China and Pakistan are closely coordinating moves to block India's entry into NSG, the group's sources have told reporters.Beijing is using Pakistan's non-starter position with the NSG - as Pakistan, too, hasn't signed the NPT- to block India's application by saying that it would either support NSG entry for both India and Pakistan, or for none of them.Last month, Pakistan prime minister's advisor on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz said as much that China has helped Pakistan to stall India's bid to get NSG membership.