China protests against South Asian N-tests

"As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China is of the view(that) all countries must abide by this resolution," Zhu said whilereferring to Resolution 1172 which calls on both India and Pakistan torenounce their nuclear weapons development programme.

Conveying New Delhi’s views on the resolution to China at the two-dayfirst-ever Sino-Indian security dialogue in Beijing earlier this week, Indiaemphasised that sensitivity to each other’s security concerns was necessaryfor a productive dialogue.

While Beijing appeared adamant on India and Pakistan implementing resolution1172 "comprehensively and in real earnest," New Delhi told China that itexpects better Chinese "understanding" on India’s sovereign right to decidefor its own national security.

"India underlined that both sides should be sensitive to each others’sovereignty, including the sovereign right of a country to determine its ownsecurity needs and take measures essential for its national securityrequirements," official sources said.

Replying to India’s charge of Sino-Pakistani nuclear and missilecooperation, Zhu did not venture to restate the oft-repeated Chinese denialbut just stated that "our view on this issue has been aired on manyoccasions."