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India and Pakistan must be 'responsible' nuke club players: US admiral

The new United States military chief for the Asia-Pacific region today cautioned India and Pakistan to think seriously about the responsibilities that go along with possessing nuclear weapons.

On his second trip to Asia since his appointment on February 20 as commander-in-chief of the US Pacific Command, Admiral Dennis C Blair said in a speech that ''the India-Pakistan confrontation over Kashmir was one of the territorial and political problems that could spark a major crisis or even conflict.''

''The nuclear fallout from a war involving Indian and Pakistani nuclear weapons would cover more than those two countries,'' Adm Blair told Singapore's Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies.

When asked about India's statements that its nuclear weapons programme has been developed as a defence against China, Adm Blair said, ''the possession of nuclear weapons comes with great responsibility no matter who they are built in view of.''

However, Blair also said during an hour-long question and answer session that he does not consider China a threat. ''Even in regional terms, it's not a threat to anyone,'' he clarified.

He said it had taken the US ''many years to develop a responsible system for handling its nuclear weapons and India and Pakistan need to think seriously about their responsibilities.''

''The possibility of miscalculation is extremely dangerous to them and the countries around them,'' he added.

UNI

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