Asia News Digest
Pakistan Tests Two Nuclear-Capable Missiles
Pakistan tested two nuclear-capable missilesone on May 29 and the other on June 3. Pakistan's military spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan told reporters in Islamabad on May 29 the test was aimed at improving the technical parameters of the missile and all neighboring nations were informed prior to the test. Following the June 3 test, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, assuring neighboring nations, said the missile test was not meant for outside nations, but to "prove to the Pakistani people" the military preparedness of the nation.
Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan also told reporters that the launch of the "indigenously-developed" 1,500 km-range Hatf-V (Ghauri) missile was "successful." India's newly appointed Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee, insisting not to react immediately, said India would look at the military ramifications of the tests.
It is not clear what ramification the tests would have on the ongoing bilateral talks to work out a format to resolve all bilateral disputes, including the five-decades-old Kashmir conflict that has created an instability in the region as a whole, between India and Pakistan.
Observers, however, noted the sharp response May 27 on Pakistani TV, by President Pervez Musharraf, to the Indian External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh's proposal that the 1972 Shimla talks between India and Pakistan form the "bedrock" of their relations. Expressing his views on Kashmir on television, Musharraf reiterated that equitable dialogue was the only route to its solution, and it was imperative for India, Pakistan, and the Kashmiris to agree on an acceptable solution.
Myanmar Prime Minister in Kuala Lumpur
Myanmar Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt arrived in Malaysia on June 1 for a 24-hour stay to hold talks with his counterpart, Abdullah Ahmed Badawi, and the UN Special Envoy Razali Ismail. His arrival was marred by the arrest of an activist linked to Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy, at the Kuala Lumpur airport.
Malaysia has taken a leading role in integrating Myanmar into the 10-country ASEAN grouping. The meeting in Kuala Lumpur was followed by Prime Minister Khin Nyunt's visit to Bangkok, Thailand, where he held talks with the Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Khin Nyunt's "road map to democracy." It is significant to note that these meetings took place during a constitutional convention, minus the participation of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, which chose to boycott the convention, protesting the continuing house arrest of their leader, Suu Kyi.
Sri Lankan Minister Seeks India's Help in Peace Talks
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshnam Kadirgama, a key aide to President Chandrika Kumaratunga and arguably the best friend India has got in Sri Lanka, met with India's new External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh on June 1 and said his government is exploring the possibility of India playing a more direct role in the peace process between the secessionist Tamil Tigers and Colombo. Kadirgamar also met India's Premier Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Kadirgam's visit is very important for Indo-Sri Lanka relations. The previous government of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, had been considering Colombo's request to supply military equipment and train Sri Lankan military personnel. The proposal came under intense verbal attack from the Tamil Tiger rebels. India had taken a hands-off approach since 1990, when it pulled out troops from Sri Lanka after a futile three-year deployment to disarm the rebels.
Another worry of Colombo is that the present Indian government has as its ally the Tamil Nadu-based DMK. DMK had been in the forefront of training the Tigers in the 1980s, providing the Sri Lankan rebels with arms, reports indicated. DMK has not yet been cleared of suspicion that it played a role in the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, carried out by the Tamil Tigers' suicide squad in Tamil Nadu in 1991.
China Invites Indian Minister to Attend Asia Dialogue
While speaking at the official release of China's Foreign Ministry Annual Year Book June 1, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing invited India's External Affairs Minister to attend the Asia Cooperation Dialogue in Qingdao, Shandong province on June 21-22.
"We will work together to further enhance our bilateral friendship and cooperation, "Li said of China-India relations. Li said he and Natwar Singh "are very good friends and we agreed upon every topic of interest," during their first telephone discussion on May 26.
The Year Book shows Sikkim as part of India. China had promised the visiting Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee last June that Beijing recognized that Sikkim as a part of India, and not an independent nation.
The Year Book also states that the two sides (China and India) are making "progress" in dealing with "problems left over from history," and that the visit of Vajpayee was a "major event" in Sino-India relations. "The visit went a long way towards improving China-India relations and opened a new page in the all-round cooperation between the two countries," it said.
The Year Book also noted cooperation with Russia, and close cooperation with India, at the WTO meeting in Cancun to defend the interests of the developing nations.
China Silent on India Call for 'Common' Nuclear Doctrine
China, one of the five nuclear-weapons states, chose to keep mum on New Delhi's absurd call for a "common" nuclear doctrine for India, China, and Pakistan. "China always stands for complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons," the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement to the Press Trust of India, in Beijing, on June 2.
India's External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh said on June 2 that India and Pakistan "are now nuclear powers, and so is China." "The three countries should get together and work out a common nuclear doctrine at the highest level," Singh said.
The proposal is not only absurd, it borders on incoherence. China is a recognized nuclear-weapons state, while India and Pakistan are not. There is no indication whatsoever that a matter of such great import, and a great deal of secrecy, had been discussed ever before. The most important issue before India and Pakistan is to improve their economic, political, and security relations. The same holds true for improving India-China relations.
First AIDS Deaths Reported in Afghanistan
An Afghan man and his two children died of AIDS in Kabul last month, Naqibullah Safi, head of the Afghan Health Ministry's HIV department, told AFP June 2. "These are the first recorded HIV deaths in Afghanistan." The report does not say how the family got infected. Naqibullah Safi reported that between 200-300 Afghans are now HIV-positive.
The disease remained virtually unknown in Afghanistan. where the literacy level is abysmally low. There exists a genuine fear that if AIDS starts spreading in this country, it could lead to an epidemic. After decades of war, Afghanistan has almost zero resources to fight the disease.
The infection is spreading primarily through intravenous drug use by opium addicts. Rising opium production in the country has fueled drug addition among the Afghans, as well as in central Asia and Russia over the last decade.
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