World Tibet Network News Tuesday, May 19, 1998

BEIJING, May 18 (AFP) - China on Monday accused India of hreatening world security with its five nuclear tests but called for renewed efforts at peace. The explosions "posed a grave threat to peace and stability in South Asia and the world, undermining international efforts for non-proliferation and a complete test ban of nuclear weapons and arousing strong condemnation worldwide," the official Xinhua news agency said in a commentary.

But it also called for a resumption of efforts to improve relations between China and India, which had been slowly improving before souring on last week's tests and comments by Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes."An improvement in bilateral relations would be in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries and be conducive to peace,stability and development in the region and in the world," Xinhua said.

It went on to suggest that the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader who lives in exile in India, had played a role in the growing tension between the two populous neighbors. "The fact that the Dalai clique gave its backing to India's nuclear tests reflected the sinister relations between the Indian government and the Dalai clique," it said. Tibetan exiles in India gave strong backing to the five underground nuclear tests carried out on May 11 and 13. Fernandes on Monday renewed his statement that China was a bigger threat to his country than Pakistan. He triggered a storm in Sino-Indian relations with similar comments on May 3, but said he did not regret his words."I repeat, China is the biggest threat to us," Fernandes, a fire brand socialist in India's Hindu nationalist-led coalition government, told a public rally in Bombay.