By Poojil Tiwari
After its entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and the Wassenaar Agreement, India was on Friday admitted as the 43rd member of the elite multilateral export control regime, Australia Group (AG). The Australia Group is one of the four non-proliferation groups working towards controlling exports that add to biological and chemical waste.
Ascending the ladder in the world
Established in 1985, the Australia Group has been exercising control over the export of substances which have military ramifications since its inception. While the AG may not seem as fascinating as the Wassenaar Agreement or the MTCR, the group continues to issue informal guidelines and classify new items for export control. The AG in its press release said, “On 19 January 2018 India formally became the 43rd member of the Australia Group (AG), the cooperative and voluntary group of countries working to counter the spread of materials, equipment and technologies that could contribute to the development or acquisition of chemical and biological weapons (CBW) by states or terrorist groups. In warmly welcoming India to the Group, the other AG members recognised the Government of India’s commitment to bring India’s export control system into alignment with the AG and India’s determination to contribute to the global effort to prevent the proliferation of CBW in the security interests of all members of the international community.”
India’s entry into the MTCR and Wassenaar Agreement was cleared by 35 and 41 countries respectively, most of which are members of the NSG, thereby reflecting its rising status in the global non-proliferation regime. India’s entry into the Australia Group also allows it to exert more control over weapons of mass destruction in the volatile region of South Asia and provide it with an edge over China and Pakistan, both of whom are not members of the AG.
Nuclear Suppliers Group to come next?
Ever since the India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement, India has been actively trying to enter the non-proliferation groups in order to strengthen its position in the global market. The move is particularly significant in terms of pushing for India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the only non-proliferation group that the country is not currently a part of. Furthermore, it is also expected to make the acquisition of critical technologies easier for the country. Entry into the NSG takes place by consensus, as is the case with other non-proliferation groups. At present, India’s entry into the NSG has been blocked by China, which maintains that signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) should be a prerequisite for joining the NSG. The NPT only recognises the five permanent members of the Security Council: The United States, United Kingdom, Russia, France and China as nuclear-weapon states. However, China is not a part of the MTCR, Wassenaar Agreement and the AG. India’s entry into these three will allow it to interact with NSG member states and resolve the concerns regarding its entry into the bloc. Furthermore, it dilutes the importance given to China’s stance against India’s signing the NPT.
While becoming a part of the NSG could still take years given China’s unflinching opposition, entry into the AG strengthens India’s non-proliferation credentials and is a strategic victory for the country.
Featured Image Source: IAEA Imagebank on Visual Hunt/ CC BY-SA
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