Asia in arms race
Photo: The Hindu
On April 19, India successfully launched the locally-developed long-range intercontinental ballistic missile Agni V able to carry a nuclear warhead from Wheeler Island, off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa. India's Defence Minister A. K. Antony said that India has "joined the elite of nations" that possess long-range missiles. Agni-V's innovative technologies include composite rocket motors, guidance ring-laser gyro-based inertial navigation systems, micro-navigation systems and accelerometers to measure the ICBM's acceleration and detect any change in its vehicular motion. The missile has a range of more than 5,000km (3,100 miles), within range of targets in China. Analysts say the Agni (meaning "fire" in Hindi and Sanskrit) missile family is to be the cornerstone of India's missile-based nuclear deterrent. "Fired from a canister-launch system to provide it greater operational flexibility of being either rail- or road-launched, the Agni-V compares favourably with ICBMs in use by nuclear weapons states like Britain, China, France, Russia and the US," DRDO chief VK Saraswat said. Briefing reporters at the recently-concluded Defexpo 2012 in Delhi, Mr Saraswat said that advanced technologies incorporated into Agni-V were "far ahead of other countries with few exceptions, like the US." DRDO officials say a reduced payload will further enhance the Agni-V's range to beyond 5,000km. "Agni-V will provide India with much-needed dissuasive deterrence against China which at present it lacks. With Agni-V trials, India's strategic lacunae will to a large extent be overcome" said former Brigadier Arun Sahgal, joint director of the Institute of National Security Studies in Delhi. The missiles are among the country's most sophisticated weapons. The missiles in the Agni series, which take their name from the Hindi word for fire, are the cornerstone of India's mobile land-based nuclear delivery system. In 2010, India successfully test-fired Agni-II, an intermediate-range ballistic missile with a range of more than 2,000km .The most recent test took place in November with the launch of Agni IV, a 3,500-km-range missile.. This year at the Independence Day parade, Agni IV was displayed publicly. Defence analyst Rahul Bedi says a successful test flight of the Agni-V missile, which is capable of delivering a single 1.5-ton warhead deep inside nuclear rival China's territory, would strengthen India's nuclear deterrence once it comes into service by 2014-15. It is 17.5m tall, solid-fuelled, has three stages and a launch weight of 50 tons. It has cost more than 2.5bn rupees ($480m) to develop. Only China, Russia, France, the US and UK have such long-range missiles. Israel is thought to possess them. The successful launching made India "the most advanced in the Indian missile inventory," said Poornima Subramaniam, an Asia-Pacific armed forces analyst with IHS Jane's, a global think tank specializing in security issues. Ms. Subramaniam says Agni V would boost India's strategic position against China while improving its deterrence system against its other regional rival, Pakistan. "The Agni-V can strike targets across the depth of China, potentially freeing up other short- and intermediate range missiles for use against Pakistan and much of west and south-central China. While India maintains a no-first-use policy, it views this road-mobile ICBM capability as technologically narrowing the missile gap between India and China," she added. ICBM stands for intercontinental ballistic missile. India, which came off worse in its 1962 border war with China over one of the world's longest-running disputes, had claimed that fear of Beijing's burgeoning nuclear arsenal was responsible for it conducting its five underground nuclear tests in May 1998. Concern over China's intermediate- and long-range missile capability also hastened India's indigenous programme to develop its own strategic weapons. Indian military planners remain apprehensive over China's nuclear-capable DF21 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) and its many variants which have ranges of 1,500km-2,250km. These are deployed across Tibet and south-west China and are capable of striking major Indian cities, including Delhi. India's arsenal of IRBMs, on the other hand, includes the Agni-I, Agni-II and Agni-III with ranges of between 700-800km, 2,000-2,300km and over 3,500km respectively. The missiles are being built at Bharat Dynamics Limited in Hyderabad under the DRDO's supervision and operated by the Strategic Forces Command Created in January 2003, the command is responsible for the management and administration of the country's nuclear weapons stockpile and is part of India's overarching Nuclear Command Authority. The shorter-range Agni-I and II were developed with nuclear rival Pakistan in mind. The Agni III, however, is directed at Chinese military and nuclear assets ranged in Tibet, a region of increasing strategic significance to both Delhi and Beijing. The launch of Agni V is interesting also because it offers a rare glimpse into India's broader nuclear strategy, much of which focuses on improving its delivery vehicles. "Because there is so little public discussion on the nuclear weapons themselves, the frequent testing of a diverse array of ballistic missiles, of increasingly longer range, is the most visible reminder of India's growing nuclear capability," explained M.V. Ramana, a security expert, in a recent report. India's launch of Agni V comes days after North Korea's launch of a multistage rocket failed. The pressure is on for India to show it can do better. India is aiming to complete a "nuclear triad," a system that would allow nuclear weapons to be delivered by airborne, land-based and sea-based vehicles. India is turning to the US for military hardware to secure its border. India is planning to procure 126 US built multirole combat fighter jets at a cost of $11 billion to rearm country's outdated air force and upgrade defence capabilities against China and Pakistan. India is one of the biggest arms buying country in the world. Furthermore in March China announced a double-digit increase in military spending, while India recently became top arms buyer, displacing China from the top spot. India assesses its security concerns in the light of Chinese military strength, and Pakistan defines its security position against India's position. The launch of Agni V is likely to increase arms and missile race in South Asia. Praful Bidwai, an Indian columnist associated with the Coalition of Nuclear Disamament and Peace said: "It is ridiculous. We are getting into useless arms race at the expense of fulfilling the need of poor people."
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