New Delhi: As bickering in the Indian political establishment over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal has reached its crescendo, some of India's neighbours are actually rejoicing the uncertainty surrounding this showpiece agreement.
While Pakistan's opposition to the nuke deal is well known, Beijing is now trying to point out the 'pitfalls' of the arrangement and even suggesting that Washington should reconsider the deal with New Delhi.
"The result of the pact might turn out not so satisfactory since India, out of practical political considerations, only wants to size the opportunity and rise as a big power," Beijing has warned Washington.
Interestingly, while the Left in India has termed the nuclear agreement a complete sellout to the US, their Chinese counterparts seem to believe otherwise.
"Judging from the text, the US has made big concessions and met almost all Indian requests, including full supply of nuclear fuel to India and allowing it to dispose nuclear waste," Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily says.
Even on the nuclear test issue, the Chinese comrades have a different view altogether. "India's right to continue conducting nuclear testing will depend on 'circumstances'. According to the text, if India can satisfactorily justify its nuclear testing, the US would acquiesce. That is, Washington has actually acknowledged India's right to retain nuclear testing," it says.
The Chinese, obviously wary about the fact that the nuclear bonhomie between India and the US will challenge its security dominance in the region, however, claims "the US generosity in helping India develop nuclear energy is partly due to its hegemony idea, which made it regardless of others' opinions, and partly due to the intention of drawing India in as a tool for its global strategic pattern."
Beijing has, in fact, warned Washington that "India's DNA doesn't allow itself to become an ally subordinate to the US, just like Japan or Britain. The British media said the US 'nuclear award' to India has burned a big hole in the global non-proliferation system. This is incorrect, dangerous and unnecessary."
The Communist Party mouthpiece also points out that in exercising double standards on the nuclear issue of India, Washington has sent a signal of danger to the world, by spoiling its authority on the international arena, damaging the existing non-proliferation system and beating global efforts towards non-proliferation.
Another Communist Party newspaper, Global Times — which is published in Chinese — says under the prevailing circumstances, "the Indian Government has to choose between its own survival and that of the deal." The newspaper said the deal has caused a political turmoil in India leading to a situation where Singh might be forced to step down from office.
On its part, Pakistan has said that it should have been included in talks that resulted in the US agreeing to provide India with civilian nuclear fuel, to prevent an atomic arms race between the two rivals,
Pakistan's National Command Authority (NCA), chaired by President Pervez Musharraf, has even warned that the civilian nuclear accord between India and the US threatens regional stability and it would allow its archrival to produce more atomic bombs.
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