F-16 sale to Pak 'complicates' India-US relationship: McCain

February 25, 2016 22:22

Top Republican senator John McCain today acknowledged the "timing" of the announcement on the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan was "really bad" and that the Obama administration needs to explain the reason behind its decision which "complicates" India-US relations.

At a time, when the US is pushing hard to improve its defence relationship with India as part of its effort to maintain its dominance in the Asia Pacific region, such a move tends to "complicate" India-US ties, McCain, Chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters at the Defence Writers Group. "I think that the future of Asia, if we want to have the kind of influence that we always had and a deterrence to the Chinese behaviour is a very close relationship between the United States and India.

Which by the way the F-16 issue complicates that," McCain said. Senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has put a hold on the administration's notification to the US Congress early this month on the proposed sale of F-16s to Pakistan.

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