India foils attempt to bring China into South Asian group

India has thwarted a bid by smaller neighbours to make China a permanent member of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc).

A senior Indian diplomat yesterday confirmed a report in The Telegraph newspaper that Nepal had proposed upgrading China's status from an observer to permanent member of the eight-nation regional group dominated by India, ahead of this week's Saarc summit in Thimpu, Bhutan.

But the proposal - seconded by Pakistan and Bangladesh - was dropped from the agenda of the Thimpu summit after Bhutan, Afghanistan and the Maldives sprang to New Delhi's defence, arguing that it was too early to give permanent membership to China which was accorded observer status only five years ago.

After aborting Nepal's move, a triumphant Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao on Friday said: 'A fresh entry into Saarc? No, I am afraid not. We have eight member countries and that's the way it is.'

Besides China, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh are also in favour of bringing Iran - whose ties with India are strained over its alleged nuclear weapons programme and opposition to American policies - into Saarc to make it a more 'vibrant' group.

India has dominated Saarc, once dubbed the 'poor man's club of aspiring rich men', since its birth in 1985. But there is so much resentment against India that many smaller countries want China on board to counter India.