ISLAMABAD Pakistani military ruler General Pervez Musharraf said on Tuesday a Chinese role remained vital for peace in South Asia, which he called a "victim of regional hegemonism".

"As a close neighbor, China has always played a crucial and positive role for peace and stability of South Asia," the official APP news agency quoted him as saying in a speech at the state-funded Institute of Strategic Studies.

"This role will remain vital, specially so in the changing geostrategic realities," Musharraf said a day after Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji ended a four-day visit to Pakistan, a traditional ally of China.

Musharraf said the nuclear weapons tests by arch-rivals India and Pakistan three years ago had added a "new dimension to the perennial tensions" that threaten regional peace.

He said unfortunately the end of the Cold War did not usher in an expected era of peace. "It in fact has led to a change in global equations leading to the emergence of regional hegemonies," he was quoted as saying.

"South Asia is such a victim of regional hegemonism which creates strategic imbalance," he said of what Pakistan sees as attempts by India, the second most populous country in the world, to dominate South Asia, Reuters reported.

He said it was in the interests of Pakistan's security to maintain a regional strategic balance.

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since their independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over disputed Kashmir. Tensions remain high between the two countries over an 11-year-old separatist insurgency in the Indian-ruled part of the Himalayan region.

APP quoted Musharraf as saying he fully endorsed China's advocacy of peaceful coexistence but, in a reference to wars with India, added that Pakistan's "sovereignty and territorial integrity had been threatened in the past".

"We desire peace with dignity and honor. This cannot be done without solving disputes that have plagued security in South Asia and continue to be a hindrance in improving the overall environment," he said about what Pakistan calls the "core issue" of Kashmir.

China had been a firm supporter of Pakistan's position on what Islamabad calls the Kashmiri struggle for the right to self-determination. But that support has been muted in recent years as China moved to mend fences with India.

China has traditionally been seen as a key supporter of Pakistan's nuclear and missile programs, which Islamabad says are aimed at securing the country against the perceived Indian threat.

But both Islamabad and Beijing deny their cooperation has violated international agreements governing weapons of mass destruction or transfer of missile technology.

Musharraf said in his speech that Pakistan-China cooperation "in the field of defense remains strong and will continue within the bounds of international regimes".