India cannot be exception

President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, June 23, 2016. [Photo by Rao Aimin/Xinhua]

At the meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Seoul last week, at least 10 members, including China, opposed India's membership, as it is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Prior to the meeting in Seoul, Indian media claimed that all the 48 members of the NSG had agreed on India's accession except China.

But since its founding in 1975, all NSG members have been signatories to the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and this is a basic principle for NSG membership.

Given that India has not signed the treaty, it is reasonable for the existing members of the NSG to deny the country access to the group. China has been singled out by the media in India, with some Indians calling for a boycott of Chinese goods and some even proposing India's withdrawal from BRICS.

The backing offered by the United States seems to have fuelled India's self-confidence in its bid for NSG membership. But the US does not represent the whole world.

There is no reason for some in India to feel frustrated at China voting against India's membership bid. China's stance is based on established international norms and it is India that wants to make itself an exception.

Due to excessive support from the West in recent years, a mood of excessive self-confidence has been fostered in India and any failure to satisfy its demands by other countries tends to be over-interpreted in this Southeast Asian nation.

Indian nationalists may be eager to see a greater presence of their country in international organizations, but they should be aware that for their country to be a "great power" it needs to adhere to international norms.