US rules out adding India or Japan to security alliance with Australia and UK
Washington, (PTI): The US has ruled out adding India or Japan to the new trilateral security partnership with Australia and Britain to meet the challenges of the 21st century in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
On September 15, US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson jointly announced the formation of the trilateral security alliance AUKUS under which Australia would get a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines for the first time.
"The announcement of AUKUS last week was not meant to be an indication, and I think this is the message the President also sent to (French President Emmanuel) Macron, that there is no one else who will be involved in security in the Indo-Pacific," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Wednesday.
Psaki was responding to a question if countries like India and Japan whose leaders would be in Washington this week for the first in-person Quad Summit would be made part of the new security alliance.
The Quad comprises India, the US, Japan and Australia. US President Joe Biden is hosting the first in-person Quad summit at the White House on September 24.
"On Friday you'll have the Australians there (for the Quad summit). But then you also have India and Japan. Would you envision for them a similar kind of military role that you've now defined for with the Australians? a journalist asked.
"AUKUS? What would it become? JAUKUS? JAIAUKUS? Psaki said in lighter moments before giving answer to the question.
The trilateral security alliance AUKUS, seen as an effort to counter China in the Indo-Pacific, will allow the US and the UK to provide Australia with the technology to develop nuclear-powered submarines for the first time.
China has sharply criticised the trilateral alliance, saying such exclusive grouping has no future and will gravely undermine regional stability and aggravate the arms race and hurt international non-proliferation efforts.
The move has also angered France, an European ally of the US, which said it had been "stabbed in the back" and has publicly expressed its outrage at the AUKUS alliance. It recalled its ambassador to the US and Australia after the AUKUS security deal was announced. France also lost a lucrative contract to build conventional submarines for Australia.
Meanwhile, in a bid to mend ties, President Joe and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron agreed on Wednesday that the open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France would have helped in having a better situation.
Biden and Macron have decided to open a process of in-depth consultations, aimed at creating the conditions for ensuring confidence and proposing concrete measures toward common objectives, a joint statement said after their meeting.
"Of course, it's an important topic in conversations with the French, with a range of countries who have a direct interest in the region, Psaki said at the White House briefing on Wednesday.
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One dead, 5 injured in explosion at firecracker factory in Maharashtra's Palghar
Palghar (PTI): A worker was killed and five others were seriously injured after an explosion ripped through a firecracker factory in Maharashtra's Palghar district on Tuesday, police said.
Two persons were arrested in connection with the incident, said an official.
Earlier, the administration had put the death toll at two, but a corrected statement in the evening said a male worker died while a woman with 80 per cent burns was undergoing treatment.
The tragedy follows the blast at a firecracker factory in Tamil Nadu which claimed 23 lives and left many injured on Sunday.
The explosion occurred around 12 pm on Tuesday at a firecracker manufacturing unit operating out of a tin shed inside an old farmhouse at Konsai village of Wada taluka, said Vivekanand Kadam, chief of the civic disaster management cell.
As many as 35 workers, mostly women, were engaged in manufacturing 'twine bombs' (thread-bound crackers) at the time, he said.
"The explosion took place when a chemical mixing process was underway, killing one worker on the spot, and leaving a woman -- Monica Sachin Padwale (30) -- with 80 per cent burn injuries," an official from Wada police station said. The woman was later shifted to a Mumbai hospital.
The deceased worker was identified as Bhavesh Dileep Vavare (35).
Monica Mahendra Jadhav (30), Jagruti Jagdish Gavate (27), Pratibha Pratap Pawar (30) and Monica Mohan Vardi (25) also sustained serious injuries and were undergoing treatment at Wada Rural Hospital.
"Fire services and police reached the spot immediately to oversee rescue operations. The blaze following the explosion was quickly brought under control by the fire brigade," the official said.
As per preliminary investigations, raw materials were brought from outside to the unit which had begun operations on April 10, and daily-wage workers from nearby villages including Jamghar, Konsai, Palsai and Alman were employed.
A probe is underway to ascertain if the manufacturing unit possessed necessary licenses and followed safety protocols, the police official said.
"We are probing the exact cause of the fire and possible negligence regarding safety measures at the site," the official said, adding that a search was underway for the owners of the manufacturing unit.
The factory shed collapsed following the blast, sending splinters flying. Body parts of the deceased were found some distance away.
District Superintendent of Police Yatish Deshmukh told PTI that the process of registering an offence against three persons including the shed owner was underway.
The shed owner and another accused were arrested and the police were on the look-out of the third accused.
