US Senator apologises for calling India a security threat

An influential American Senator, known as the best friend of India in the US Senate, on Sunday  apologised for "mistakenly" calling India instead of China a security threat to the United States.

While defending the need to continue with F-22 programme, now being closed down by Obama Administration, Senator John Cornyn said in an interview that the US needs these fighter jets for protecting itself from increasing national security threats from countries like North Korea, Iran and India.

Cornyn is founder and Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus and had played a key role in the passage of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal. He has been one of the prime supporter of deepening of strategic ties between India and the US.

"It's important to our national security because we're not just fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq... we have graver threats and greater threats than that, from a rising India, with increased exercise of their military power; Russia, Iran, that's threatening to build a nuclear weapon; with North Korea, shooting intercontinental ballistic missiles, capable of hitting American soil," he said.

"Senator Cornyn regrets the mistake and apologises for any misunderstanding this may have caused," Kevin McLaughlin, spokesperson for Cornyn, said in a statement after the issue was brought to the notice of the media by an Indian American.