Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said yesterday he was confident that diplomatic pressure would resolve the crisis with Pakistan, even as he received cross-party support in the event of war.
In a meeting with the leaders of all political parties, Vajpayee said the international community was aware of India's anger in the wake of the Dec. 13 attack on its parliament, which New Delhi has blamed on Pakistan-based militant outfits operating at the behest of Pakistani military intelligence.
"I firmly believe this will put sufficient pressure on Pakistan and it will be forced to act against the terrorist groups," Vajpayee was quoted as saying by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan.
PHOTO: AP
During the meeting, Mahajan said all party leaders had agreed that while every effort should be made to avert a war, they would offer full backing to the government should a conflict "be forced" on India.
Military tensions between the South Asian nuclear rivals have soared since Dec. 13, with both sides massing troops along their border and trading tit-for-tat diplomatic sanctions.
At least two civilians were injured in Pakistani shelling across the tense Line of Control which divides disputed Kashmir, Indian army Brigadier P.C. Das said. "Pakistani troops have been shelling the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu," he said.
Kashmir Housing Minister Ghulam Shah said 60,000 Kashmiris had fled their villages near the border over the past five days because of the shelling and military buildup.
In separate phone calls Saturday from his Texas ranch to Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, US President George W. Bush urged both leaders to work to reduce tensions in the region.
But he specifically called on Musharraf to "take additional strong and decisive measures to eliminate the extremists who seek to harm India, undermine Pakistan and provoke a war between India and Pakistan," said Bush spokesman Scott McClellan.
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session yesterday while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival- threatening
RSS