President Obama: Use of chemical weapons in Syria ‘a big event, of grave concern’; India’s NSA Shivshankar Menon holds meting with his US counterpart Susan Rice in Washington
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  • According to reports, US President Barack Obama has urged caution over military action against alleged chemical warfare in Syria. In an interview with CNN broadcast on August 23, Obama said allegations of a new chemical weapons attack by government forces on Syrian civilians were of "grave concern". Obama said US authorities were gathering information about the attack, which produced horrifying footage of dead children and victims gasping for air. "What we've seen indicates clearly this is a big event, of grave concern," Obama said.1

    Reports noted that India’s National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and his US counterpart Susan Rice met in Washington and reviewed the US-India strategic partnership ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the US in late September. During the course of the meeting Tuesday, Rice reaffirmed the US commitment to further expand and strengthen bilateral relations, including economic and commercial ties, a White House press statement said. The two also exchanged ideas on enhancing security cooperation between the two countries, reviewed the progress on civil nuclear and clean energy cooperation and explored greater collaboration on climate change. Rice and Menon also discussed India's continued support for a stable, secure, and prosperous Afghanistan, according to the White House statement. Rice said US President Barack Obama was looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Singh to the White House September 27. Prime Minister Singh will be in the US to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting. The meeting between the two leaders will highlight India's role in regional security and stability and provide an opportunity for the two to chart a course toward enhanced trade, investment, and development cooperation between the US and India, the statement said. The two leaders met earlier when Manmohan Singh visited Washington in 2009 and Obama visited India in 2010.2

    According to reports, the United States and China have agreed to expand military exchanges and exercises as part of efforts to build more stable bilateral ties amid tensions over cyber security. US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan met in Washington on August 19 and pledged to strengthen bilateral military cooperation. Hagel said Washington is committed to a "positive and constructive relationship with China." Hagel said he and Chang wanted to build "a sustained, substantive military-to-military relationship" to bolster ties between the world's two biggest economies. "Our goal is to build trust between our militaries through cooperation," Hagel told reporters. Chang stressed a similar theme of cooperation with the US in the Asia-Pacific.3

    In another development, reports noted that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Honolulu on August 22 on the first leg of a trip to the Asia-Pacific region to meet with counterparts and leaders from several countries, and to attend a defense ministers meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel kicked off a four-nation trip to Southeast Asia with his stop in Hawaii. This is his second trip to the region since June. Before visiting Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines in the days ahead, Hagel stopped at Marine Corps Base Hawaii-Kaneohe Bay in Honolulu to thank 200 Marines and sailors for their service to the nation and to honor their part in President Barack Obama’s strategic U.S. rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region. “This rebalance is not only about our security interests in this area, it’s about a partnership of prosperity for this region of the world -- over 6 billion global citizens today,” the secretary said. On August 25 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Hagel will meet with his recently appointed counterpart, Defense Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein. Hagel also will meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to discuss overall defense relations and regional issues, including Hagel’s recent consultations with Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Chang Wanquan.4

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