LONDON, February 3: A top US Military official has stressed the need for a strong military-to-military co-operation with India. With India's population expected to overtake China's within 30 years, America's relationship with New Delhi ``is going to be very important for future,'' the US Commander in chief in the Asia-Pacific Admiral Joseph W Prueher said yesterday.``The United States does not have a strong military-to-military working relationship with India, and that needs to happen,'' he said.The Admiral sees turbulence ahead in Indonesia because of political and economic instability and the unsettled succession to President Suharto.Admiral Prueher noted that Indonesia's economic crisis has been exacerbated by fires, drought, food shortages and cronyism.``They have a lot of problems with which to grapple and economic institutions which are less strong than they should be to grapple with them - and so I worry about the stresses and strains on the Government,'' he told the Royal United ServicesInstitute for Defence Studies.In a wide-ranging speech on US policy in the Asia-Pacific, Admiral Prueher also discussed the potential for war in North Korea, US efforts to build ties with China, the pivotal US security relationship with Japan and the need for a military relationship with India.Before the economic crisis, South-East Asian nations were embarked on an arms race or military modernisation - depending on how you look at it and one effect of the financial turmoil has been to halt it, he said.The crisis has also forced Asian countries to increasingly look inward, and as people lose jobs and clamour for food, internal security will be a bigger issue, he said.``North Korea, which is facing a severe food shortage, is potentially the most volatile'' place in the region, he said.But admiral Prueher said he is optimistic that the four-party talks that include the United States, South Korea and China can bring a reconciliation or resolution on the Korean peninsula.``North Korea retains acapability to lash out in a military way, not to sustain anything but to lash out. I have a mental image of stepping on a scorpion, and as it dies it stings you, but that sting is deaths in the hundreds of thousands,'' he noted.``It's very important that we work in a balanced way so that North Korea does not feel so cornered that their only available option is to lash out,'' he said.Turning to China, Admiral Prueher said the Communist giant is the backdrop for all security discussions in the Asia-Pacific and that the United States has embarked on a long-term program to build the foundations for a relationship. Admiral Prueher recalled that in late October, he told Chinese President Jiang Zemin during his visit to Hawaii that it was important for the United States and China to build trust.``He said, before there is trust, there must be understanding,'' admiral Prueher quoted Jiang as saying. ``So what we are embarked on is a dialogue to build some understanding, to eventually, hopefully, build sometrust.''
