China continues opposing India's entry into NSG

China on Friday continued to oppose India's entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, saying the global non-proliferation order would collapse if New Delhi was allowed exception.

"If exceptions are allowed here or there on the question of NPT, the international non-proliferation order then will be collapsed altogether," Wang Qun, Director General of the Department of Arms Control of China's Foreign Ministry, said in a statement from Seoul.

"In the absence of NPT as a political and legal basis, it will be inconceivable for the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the Iran nuclear deal) to be reached," he added.

"And moreover, it will add huge difficulty to implementation of the JCPOA. And in the absence of NPT as the political and legal basis, how could the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsular be resolved? All these merit reflection. While it's easy to adopt double standards, the consequence can be enormous," Wang added.

His comments come even as the 48-member NSG is holding the second day of its plenary session in the South Korean capital, where the question of India's membership is being taken up.

On Thursday, Japan raised the issue of India's membership, and it was taken up at a special session though China has repeatedly asserted that the membership question of non-NPT countries would not be discussed at the plenary.

--IANS

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