China supports India-Japan nuclear deal, says all countries allowed 'peaceful use' of energy

China on Monday expressed support for the civil nuclear deal signed between India and Japan, saying that all countries were “entitled to the peaceful use of nuclear energy”. A foreign ministry spokesperson said Beijing believed that respecting nuclear non-proliferation was necessary for civil nuclear cooperation between countries, PTI reported.

“The relevant cooperation should be conducive to safeguard the authority and effectiveness of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime,” said Geng Shuang. Referring to a mention of the South China Sea in the joint statement issued by New Delhi and Tokyo, Geng said “concerted efforts” by countries in the region was allowing the dispute to take a “positive direction”. “We have been repeating that we should come back to the right track of peacefully resolving the relevant dispute through negotiations and consultations,” Geng said, adding that Beijing hoped that countries “outside the region” would respect those efforts.

China’s endorsement of the deal comes after the country on November 11 asked India and Japan to respect the “legitimate concerns” of its neighbours. Separately, an editorial in the state-run Global Times on November 8 had said India was likely to suffer “great losses” in trade if it supported Japan and asked Beijing to abide by an international tribunal’s ruling against China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The nuclear deal – signed on November 11 after six years of negotiations – will allow Tokyo to supply fuel, equipment and technology to New Delhi to produce nuclear energy. The two countries also signed a separate document with a clause that will allow Japan to terminate the pact if India conducts a nuclear test. The agreement will enable United States-based atomic firms Westinghouse Electric Corporation and GE Energy to set up plants in India.

This is the first time that Japan has entered a deal with a country that is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. China has opposed India’s entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, citing New Delhi’s refusal to sign the NPT.