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Rice kicks off Asia trip with push for Indo-Pak peace

US may signal willingness to sell F-16s to both rivals

AFP, REUTERS, New Delhi
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in the Indian capital yesterday at the start a six-nation tour of Asia which she said was in the midst of "tremendous change".
"This is going to be an opportunity to exchange views with important countries, important players in the region that is itself in the midst of tremendous change," Rice told reporters on board the aircraft which brought her to New Delhi.
"For instance with India, we clearly have a broader and deeper relationship than we ever had," she added.
Rice was received at the airport by senior Indian foreign ministry officials when she arrived around 7:00 pm (1330 GMT).
She will have a full working day in the Indian capital today when she meets Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Foreign Minister Natwar Singh before flying off to Islamabad in the evening.
She said increased military spending by Beijing was a concern because it comes at a time when there was growing tension between China and Taiwan.
Rice also criticised Beijing for passing a new law Monday that gives its military the legal basis to attack Taiwan if the island moves towards independence.
"Certainly, the military spending is concerning because it is taking place at a time when the cross-Strait issue (with Taiwan) is not still resolved," Rice told reporters on her plane.
China's rubber-stamp parliament approved Monday a 12.6 percent increase in military spending this year to 244.65 billion yuan (29.5 billion dollars).
"The anti-secession law is not helpful in reducing cross strait tensions," she said.
The legislation is expected to be raised during Rice's stay in China, which comes at the end of a tour that will also take her to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Japan and South Korea.
The secretary of state is due to address a joint news conference with her Indian counterpart after their talks, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said in Delhi Tuesday.
Sarna said bilateral trade, economic and security relations, the situation in Nepal, Bangladesh and the India-Pakistan peace process, ongoing cooperation in Afghanistan, developments in Iraq and United Nation reforms are some of the issues expected to come up for discussion.
Asked if India would take up the issue of proposed sales of arms to Pakistan by the United States, Sarna said the US was "well aware of our concerns".
He said India and the United States had been in close touch and recently "worked together in the UN on coordinating our approach on Nepal".
India and the United States were the first to pull their envoys out of Nepal after King Gyanendra sacked the Sher Bahadur Deuba government in February. India and Britain have suspended arm sales to Nepal while Washington has warned it will follow suit unless the king restores multiparty democracy in the Himalayan outpost.
In Islamabad, Rice will hold talks with her counterpart Khurshid Kasuri and meet President Pervez Musharraf, Pakistani foreign office spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani said.
Speaking of her trip to Inia's neighbour, Rice said, "We fully expect President Musharraf to be committed to a democractic path for Pakistan."
Pakistan has been a staunch ally of US President George W. Bush since the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
On Thursday, Rice will make a short trip to the Afghan capital Kabul and return the same day, leaving Islamabad Friday after meeting Kasuri, Jilani said.
"Besides discussing bilateral relations, we would also be discussing the regional situation," he added.
However, he did not say if Rice would make any announcement about Pakistan's request to buy more F-16 fighter jets from the US. India strongly opposes the sale.
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that on her swing through South Asia Rice is expected to signal US willingness to sell F-16s to both Pakistan and India.
The paper, citing US government sources, said the US could sell Pakistan about two dozen jets while India could buy as many as 125.
Sales of the fighter jets, it said, would be a major policy shift for
Washington and a final step toward acceptance of both countries' possession of nuclear weapons.
Islamabad in turn has said that any move by the United States to sell Patriot anti-missile systems to India would trigger a new arms race in the region, after a US defence team made a presentation last month in New Delhi
"The arms sales is a bit of tricky issue," said C. Raja Mohan, an independent South Asia expert.
"India and the US have to find a way to build defense cooperation, while managing the consequences of F-16 transfers to Pakistan," he said.
A $4 billion gas pipeline from Iran to India could also be on the agenda after Washington, locked in a war of words with Iran over its nuclear program, reminded New Delhi of its concerns.