Top-level China, India talks amid nuclear deal tension

Posted 09 10 2008 12:47PM

NEW DELHI (AFP) - Asian giants India and China held high-level talks on Monday amid tension over Beijing's purported reluctance to back New Delhi's civilian nuclear ambitions.

India has criticised Beijing for being unwilling to support a waiver that would enable New Delhi to trade with the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG), which controls global atomic commerce, without signing non-proliferation pacts.

The NSG exemption, approved Saturday, is key for energy-hungry India to buy nuclear fuel, technology and reactors to power its economy.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who arrived in India Sunday, met his counterpart Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"We were rather disappointed because the Chinese suddenly jumped into the arena supporting -- they didn't say anything themselves -- the naysayers," India's national security adviser M.K. Narayanan said.

"We will of course express some kind of disappointment... saying that we expected more from them," he added.

After closed-door meetings with Indian leaders, Yang said Beijing did not try to block the waiver at the NSG meeting.

"The Chinese side adopted a responsible and positive attitude... with regard to discussions at the NSG and now we see a consensus was reached," Yang told reporters.

"We didn't do anything to block it. We played a constructive role," he said.

China had earlier voiced concerns over lifting the ban since India, which had been denied access to nuclear technology because it tested a nuclear weapon in 1974, is not a member of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

But India finally made a "formal declaration" Friday to stand by its non-proliferation commitments and uphold its moratorium on tests, and China withdrew its earlier opposition.

An Indian official said New Delhi's disappointment with China's stance at the NSG followed "repeated assurances" from President Hu Jintao that Beijing would not oppose a consensus on the entry of New Delhi.

Uday Bhaskar, a former head of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, said the friction was part of longstanding competition between the economic and strategic rivals.

But he noted that there had been a "concerted attempt by both sides to set aside differences" and normalise bilateral ties despite mistrust stemming from a brief but bitter border conflict in 1962.

"Clearly, until now China has been the major power in Asia, which was skewed in China's favour," Bhaskar said.

"With India entering the NSG, a new strategic equation has been introduced into Asia and this clearly has caused disquiet to China," he said.

Beijing's alleged change of position was a "covert attempt to prevent a successful rise of India."

"China's credibility in bilateral relations with India is at stake" with New Delhi likely to adopt a more "wary" approach, he said.

Besides differences at the NSG, India and China would review progress made in 11 rounds of talks to resolve a thorny boundary dispute, officials said.

India says China occupies 38,000 square kilometres (14,700 square miles) of its Himalayan territory, while Beijing claims the whole of the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which is 90,000 square kilometres.