In a joint news conference yesterday in New Delhi, Rice and Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh said they discussed possible sales of the F-16 to both India and Pakistan, but did not expect any agreement to be announced.
India wants to buy the US weaponry while denying it to Pakistan. The neighboring rivals have fought three wars since their 1947 independence from Britain.
Rice -- who is due to visit Pakistan next on her whirlwind tour of Asia this week that also includes stops in South Korea, Japan and China -- said F-16 sales would be a topic during talks in Islamabad as well. Pakistan bought 40 F-16s during the 1980s, but Congress put a stop to sales in 1990.
Asked about India's plan to build an oil pipeline from Iran, Rice said US objections are well-known. The US has no diplomatic relations with Iran and wants to keep international pressure on the Tehran regime to give up nuclear ambitions and institute democratic reforms.
Singh, however, indicated little willingness to cancel the deal.
"We have no problems of any kind with Iran," he said, as Rice looked on.
During their meeting, Singh said he and Rice "did express ... concerns about several matters on the defense issue," adding that "There are one or two items on which we don't agree, but our relations have now reached a maturity where we can discuss these things freely and frankly."
Asked by reporters to comment on Italy's plan to reduce its 3,000-member force in Iraq this fall, Rice said she was certain any decision by Italy would be made in consultation with the coalition and praised Italy for its participation. "The real answer to Iraqi security will be when Iraqis can do those security tasks," she said.
En route to India earlier this week, Rice said the US has built solid relationships with India and Pakistan, in part because of their cooperation in the war on terrorism, Rice told reporters en route to India. That "has helped the two states to have good relations with each other," she said.
Speaking in New Delhi on Tuesday, Rice suggested that European nations might reconsider their decision to sell weapons to China after Beijing enacted a law authorizing military force against Taiwan.
Rice also blamed North Korea for its diplomatic isolation, and said international diplomacy remains the best way to persuade the destitute country to give up nuclear ambitions.
The six-way talks included the US, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea, plus the North Koreans. North Korea pulled out of the talks, announced last month that is has already built a nuclear weapon and denounced the US.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was