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This story is from December 8, 2017

After MTCR, India joins elite multilateral weapons export control regime Wassenaar Arrangement

India is slowly getting comfortable inside the global non-proliferation regimes. After the MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime) entry in June 2016, India was, on Thursday admitted as the 42nd member of the Wassenaar Arrangement.
After MTCR, India joins elite multilateral weapons export control regime Wassenaar Arrangement
NEW DELHI: India is slowly getting comfortable inside the global non-proliferation regimes. After its entry into the MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime) in June 2016, India was on Thursday admitted as the 42nd member of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a global grouping which regulates and controls the transfer and access to conventional weapons and dual use technologies.
In the coming months, India expects to enter the Australia Group as well, leaving the Nuclear Suppliers Group as the last one where India expects to enter — but with resolute opposition from China, that might be a long time coming.

Reacting to the development, MEA spokesperson said on Friday, “India’s membership is expected to facilitate high technology tie-ups with Indian industry and ease access to high tech items for our defence and space programmes. .. the membership would create the grounds for realignment of India int he export control policy framework or other WA members, including eligibility for certain licensing exemptions.” India still has to apply for licenses for high tech and dual-use exports from countries like US. From now, that process is expected to get easier.
This is the second of four non-proliferation regimes India has joined after the India-US nuclear deal was cleared. The important aspect of three out of the four regimes is that China is not a member of them except for the NSG.
The formal application to Wassenaar was made by the Indian government in November 2016, although the work to align Indian rules and munitions lists to Wassenaar rules began in 2014. The effort was massive, said an official involved in the preparatory work — it involved MEA, ministry of defence and DGFT all coordinating efforts. The government mounted an outreach to industry which was initially reluctant to take on board so many rules and regulations. India’s membership to Wassenaar will help in its effort to involve private industry in defence production and even in its space programs.

There is some overly optimistic belief in Indian circles that India could leverage its membership to MTCR and Wassenaar Arrangement for a deal on China’s membership to these groups. China has applied for membership to MTCR but was turned away because of its strong history of proliferation.
But there is a larger narrative building up — in MTCR and Wassenaar, India’s membership was cleared by 35 and 41 countries respectively. Most of these countries are also members in the NSG.
Therefore, India’s credentials or its non-NPT status did not come in the way in both of these groupings. This also makes China’s argument about a criteria-based membership application process increasingly specious. Bit by bit, India’s accession to these non-proliferation regimes is making it clearer that China’s political opposition is the stumbling block. South Block sources said India hopes that next year’s NSG plenary will see more countries accepting India’s point of view.
After the plenary meeting in Vienna, the chairman of the Wassenaar Arrangement, Jean-Louis Falconi of France announced “Confirming that the WA's existing membership criteria continue to apply, WA Participating States reviewed the progress of a number of current membership applications and agreed at the Plenary meeting to admit India which will become the Arrangement's 42nd Participating State as soon as the necessary procedural arrangements for joining the WA are completed.”
India’s membership to MTCR opened doors for its space programme and its ability to source high-end missile systems and technologies as well as surveillance drones. The Wassenaar membership is important for India, giving it a leg up as a responsible player in the world of dual-use goods and technologies and transfer of conventional arms. It gives India an important voice in shaping global response to regional and global “security developments, advances in technology and market trends…” as Falconi stated.
His statement at the end of the plenary said, “In 2017 WA Participating States reaffirmed their strong support for robust export controls on a global basis as an important tool for ensuring international peace and stability and confirmed the continued relevance of the WA and the importance of adhering to its founding principles in this context; - continued to exchange information on transfers of arms and dual-use goods and to assess the risks associated with illicit arms flows to specific geographic regions of concern, including areas of conflict…”
Wassenaar deals with transfers and access to areas considered important for India’s technological and military development — for instance in space programs, cybersecurity and intrusive software and information security. Outside these groups India would have trouble accessing a number of these technologies, because India has been for over 40 years the target of dual-use technology denial regimes. Even after the India-US deal, India hasn’t actually been able to break through these regimes. Membership is expected to declare India kosher, as it aligns its internal systems to these global regimes.
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