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Experts see US nod to India closing missile gap with China
The US’s muted comment on India’s recent Agni-V missile test is being viewed by some American experts as a quiet endorsement by Washington of New Delhi’s need to close the missile gap with China.
“The lack of US condemnation of India’s latest missile test demonstrates that the US is comfortable with Indian progress in the nuclear and missile fields and appreciates India’s need to meet the emerging strategic challenge posed by rising China,” say Lisa Curtis and Baker Spring of the Washington-based Heritage Foundation.
Curtis, a leading South Asia watcher, and Spring, a specialist on security matters, believe the successful testing of the nuclear-capable, long-range Agni-V missile represents “a major step forward for New Delhi in attaining nuclear deterrence against regional rival China”.
“It is telling that no country has criticised India’s missile test. The US State Department simply called on all nuclear-capable States to exercise restraint but also noted India’s solid record on nonproliferation and its cooperation with the international community on nuclear issues,” the two experts said, terming it a far cry from Washington’s position on Indian ballistic missile development throughout the 1990s, when it used to pressure New Delhi to modify its nuclear and missile posture.
At that time, the US would demand both of India and Pakistan “to cap, roll back, and eventually eliminate” their nuclear and missile capabilities, they said, recalling the US’s opposition to the deployment of India’s short-range Prithvi missile and development of its medium-range Agni missile. Washington had even imposed sanctions on India ‘s civilian space programmes in 1992 because of the potential for rocket technology to contribute to India ‘s ballistic missile capability.
Welcoming the new stance as “a welcome evolution in US nonproliferation policy”, Curtis and Spring noted that it is a recognition that this policy should not be a one-way street. They also saw the change in US position against the backdrop of the dramatic turnaround in its relations with India over the past decade.
“It is a paradox, but nonetheless true, that sometimes the best option for confronting proliferation is to prepare to respond in kind. From this perspective, the Chinese, in large measure, have themselves to blame for this missile test by India,” they commented.
The Heritage Foundation has for long been advocating “a robust and strategic engagement with India to encourage a stable balance of power in Asia that prevents China from dominating the region and surrounding seas”.
The US’s muted comment on India’s recent Agni-V missile test is being viewed by some American experts as a quiet endorsement by Washington of New Delhi’s need to close the missile gap with China.
“The lack of US condemnation of India’s latest missile test demonstrates that the US is comfortable with Indian progress in the nuclear and missile fields and appreciates India’s need to meet the emerging strategic challenge posed by rising China,” say Lisa Curtis and Baker Spring of the Washington-based Heritage Foundation.
Curtis, a leading South Asia watcher, and Spring, a specialist on security matters, believe the successful testing of the nuclear-capable, long-range Agni-V missile represents “a major step forward for New Delhi in attaining nuclear deterrence against regional rival China”.
“It is telling that no country has criticised India’s missile test. The US State Department simply called on all nuclear-capable States to exercise restraint but also noted India’s solid record on nonproliferation and its cooperation with the international community on nuclear issues,” the two experts said, terming it a far cry from Washington’s position on Indian ballistic missile development throughout the 1990s, when it used to pressure New Delhi to modify its nuclear and missile posture.
At that time, the US would demand both of India and Pakistan “to cap, roll back, and eventually eliminate” their nuclear and missile capabilities, they said, recalling the US’s opposition to the deployment of India’s short-range Prithvi missile and development of its medium-range Agni missile. Washington had even imposed sanctions on India ‘s civilian space programmes in 1992 because of the potential for rocket technology to contribute to India ‘s ballistic missile capability.
Welcoming the new stance as “a welcome evolution in US nonproliferation policy”, Curtis and Spring noted that it is a recognition that this policy should not be a one-way street. They also saw the change in US position against the backdrop of the dramatic turnaround in its relations with India over the past decade.
“It is a paradox, but nonetheless true, that sometimes the best option for confronting proliferation is to prepare to respond in kind. From this perspective, the Chinese, in large measure, have themselves to blame for this missile test by India,” they commented.
The Heritage Foundation has for long been advocating “a robust and strategic engagement with India to encourage a stable balance of power in Asia that prevents China from dominating the region and surrounding seas”.
