Clinton, in his annual strategy report titled `A National Security Strategy for a New Century', also called upon New Delhi and Islamabad to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) ``immediately and unconditionally'' and not to ``test, deploy or weaponise'' missiles.

The report, which usually is released in the summer but was held back this year till now, hailed China as a ``strategic partner'' with whom the US was coordinating ``efforts to strengthen peace and stability in South Asia''.

Clinton said the Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests ``clearly illustrate that a wide range of events in this region can have a significant impact on key US security objectives.''

``Choices made in the Middle East, Southwest and South Asia will determine whether terrorists operating in and from the region aredenied the support they need to perpetrate their crimes, whether weapons of mass destruction will imperil the region and the world, whether the oil and gas fields of the Caucasus and Central Asia become reliable energy sources, whether the opium harvest in Afghanistan is eliminated and whether a just and lasting peace can be established between Israel and the Arab countries,'' he said.

South Asia, he said, ``has experienced an important expansion of democracy and economic reform. Our strategy is designed to help the peoples of that region enjoy the fruits of democracy and greater stability by helping resolve long-standing conflict and implementing confidence-building measures.''

``Regional stability and improved bilateral ties are also important for US economic interests in a region that contains a fifth of the world's population and one of its most important emerging markets.''

``We seek to establish a relationship with India and Pakistan that are defined in terms of their own individual merits andreflects the full weight and range of US strategic, political and economic interests in each country,'' he said.