Delhi tests ballistic missile that can hit almost all of China's territory
The Agni-V has a range of over 5 thousand km. A possible signal to Beijing, while the two countries face off on the Himalayan border. Chinese and Indians very active in missile development. Beijing worries Washington with its hypersonic launchers; India wants to sell supersonic missiles to China's adversaries in the South China Sea.
Delhi (AsiaNews) - India has successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile with nuclear capability according to the Indian Ministry of Defense. The launch took place yesterday in the Bay of Bengal. The Agni-V has a range of over 5 thousand km and a high degree of accuracy: it means that it can hit almost all of mainland China, according to the Ministry.
Delhi has entered the restricted club of nations armed with intercontinental carriers: the others are the United States, China, Russia, France and Great Britain. However, the Indian Defense Department has stressed that the missile experiment is part of the official orientation of the state to have a "credible minimum deterrence". Delhi's policy is to "not use first" nuclear devices, but only in response to an attack.
For several Indian observers and commentators, the Agni-V test is intended instead to send a strong signal to China. The Indians carried out the test in the midst of a dispute with Beijing over the provisional border (Line of Actual Control) that divides the two countries in the Himalayas. Since June 2020, there have been repeated skirmishes between the Indian and Chinese armies, resulting in dozens of casualties. AsiaNews has reported the Indian military expects new Chinese incursions in the spring as weather conditions improve.
Tensions between the two Asian giants remain high. Delhi has criticized China's passage of a new law on border territories. Adopted Oct. 24 by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the measure states that China's sovereignty and territorial integrity are "sacred and inviolable." For Indians, these are statements contrary to China's commitment to finding a "fair" and "mutually acceptable" agreement to resolve border disputes.
India and China are very active in missile development. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute notes, in contrast with the reductions made by the Russians and the U.S., in the last year Delhi has added six nuclear warheads to its arsenal (in total it has 156 devices); China 30, reaching 320 atomic bombs.
While the U.S. military expresses concern over recent Chinese tests of hypersonic missiles, capable on paper to overcome Washington's defenses, China must face the potential threat of the Brahmos: supersonic cruise missiles developed by India in collaboration with Russia. Besides being weapons to be used in a possible direct conflict with Beijing, the Indian authorities are engaged in advanced negotiations for the sale of the Brahmos to Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia. The three countries dispute Beijing's territorial claims over almost the entire South China Sea. In recent years, China's increasing militarization of the region has led to repeated incidents with navies in Hanoi, Manila and Jakarta.
What hinders the export of BrahMos to the countries of Southeast Asia is not so much the assessment of the regional geopolitical balance, but the risk that India might incur US sanctions. With the Countering America's Adversaries Sanctions Act (CAATSA), passed by the US Congress in 2017, the US government can impose punitive measures on countries that engage in "significant transactions" militarily with Moscow.
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12/02/2016 15:14
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