It’s clear now that unless there are any dramatic new developments, China will follow through with its plan to export two power reactors to Pakistan. Further confirmation of this is set to come when Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari travels this week to Muslim-dominated Ning Xia to watch joint Sino-Pak counter-terrorism military exercises with the Chinese leadership.
Zardari will get a unique opportunity to push the deal with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao when he visits the country from July 6. The United States has said the deal needs the approval of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group, but China insists it’s grandfathering it from one signed with Pakistan before it joined the NSG in 2004.
China has been pressing Pakistan to act against Uighur separatists and the nuclear deal is meant to offer a further incentive to Pakistan. What may also work to Pakistan’s advantage is that the deal has become a point of pride for China, which doesn’t want to be seen to be backing down under the pressure of another great power.
India has very limited options for scuttling the deal now. It’s not an NSG member (although it wants to be one), and so far, it has tried but failed in its efforts with the US and like-minded NSG countries to put a roadblock on the deal.
It seems China’s growing economic and political clout is proving hard and harder to counter.
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Proud_Pakistani
Awwwww poor India cant do much to stop this deal!!
london-pak
India has a civil nuke deal with usa…. why is it so bent over pak-china… what a greedy nation u r !! i you can have civil nuc assistance from the us so can pakistan… dont act like a spoil child, it will not get you anywhere !
Murc
An Indian bitterly complaining about nuclear deal for pakistan is wrong on two accounts.
1. Indians gleefully applauded when USA broke all its own non-proliferation stances and rules last year to give a nuclear deal to India. So it is duplicitous and hypocritical for Indians to block Pakistan’s quest to boost nuclear energy for its growth under IAEA. It also betrays their innate anti-pakistan nature.
2. When it comes to kashmir or other such issues, Indians parrot a peculiar phrase that it is a BILATERAL matter and there is NO room for a third party or nation to interject. SO why do they want to interject in a BIALTERAL CHINA-PAK deal?????
Again very hypocritical and venal/petty of Indians. They are just not quite ready to graduate to a world stage and are stuck in their Pakistan obsession!!!!!
sven kramer
It is reasonable for india and US to keep partially silence on this deal because they broke the rule ar first. i guess they will argue Indo-US nuke deal is peaceful, but who could guarantee it if Indo-Pak has another wave of rivarly.
For China, to dilute the effect of this deal is just technical solution.
Magnus T.M.
Anyone except George W Bush could see this coming then he strong amred other NSG countries into letting India break the rules. Next it will be Iran and Israel demanding exemptions too and the entire NSG will collapse.
The sensible approach is to stick to the original NSG rules. Block all nuclear materials to India and Pakistan immediately until they comply with the NPT.
LOL
Very hypocritical indeed.