New Delhi, India. A move is underway for India to seek a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, but as to if it becomes a reality is in the hands of permanent members Russia, France, USA, China and the United Kingdom.
What India needs now is the support of China, which Sushma Swaraj said “hasn’t publicly opposed,” New Delhi’s bid to join the elite group. “I am confident that if not this time, then next time, India would become a permanent member of the Security Council,” Swaraj said in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament.
The minister replying to a question whether India will also get the veto power said, “We don’t want any discrimination between old and new members… and India wants the same responsibilities, prerogatives and obligations as the current permanent members.”
Swaraj told lawmakers that during the negotiation process of the 69th General UN Assembly, the US and the UK opposed veto power for new members, while France supported the Indian stand. Russia and China have not given any opinion to date on the issue.
However all is not happy faces and balloons just yet, Srinath Raghavan, senior fellow at New Delhi based Center for Policy Research, said, “China won’t support us for permanent membership in the UN Security Council. Forget UN Security Council, they are not supporting us in the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group. Our relationship is spiraling downwards with them, and the current dynamics of bilateral ties hardly inspire confidence.”
Seems India has a long way to go in it’s search for a chair at the world’s table.