India seeks more 'transparency' in China's N-ties with Pak
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New York: India has sought more 'clarity and transparency' in China's nuclear cooperation with Pakistan, saying Beijing needs to be more 'sensitive' towards its 'genuine concerns'.
Speaking on Sino-India relations at the New School in New York, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said that India was 'not against' Pakistan's relationship with other countries but New Delhi had some 'genuine concerns about some aspects' of the relationship between Beijing and Islamabad.
China's support for Pakistan's nuclear ambitions, Rao said, was an area where India was 'seeking more clarity and transparency and welcomed an open discussion'.
Early this week, reports had indicated that China and Pakistan had recently concluded an agreement under which Beijing would construct the fourth nuclear reactor at Khushab in Pakistan's Punjab province.
The Washington Post said, 'the new reactor, if verified, would signal yet another step forward in Pakistan's ambitious effort to modernize and expand its nuclear arsenal.'
In response to a question, Rao noted that unlike the US, China had not yet openly endorsed India's candidacy for a permanent seat in the United Nation's Security Council. 'China is not expressing itself openly in terms of India's candidacy,' she said and hoped that 'Beijing would not block India from getting a seat when the matter came to a vote."
Currently 128 out of 192 countries in the United Nations support India's permanent presence in the Security Council, according to Indian officials.
Rao also said New Delhi took strong exception of China's policy of issuing stapled visas to residents of Jammu and Kashmir and its presence in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The relationship between India and China, she said, 'would be stronger when China shows more sensitivity on issues that impinge on our sovereignty and territorial integrity'.
Both sides, Rao said, were working to resolve the boundary dispute.
The current talks, she said, were a 'serious attempt to arrive at a fair and mutually acceptable statements for both side'.
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