India and China are both beefing up their long-range nuclear capabilities but the topic is off limits in official dialogue, straining ties between the two countries.
DAYS AFTER INDIA TESTED ITS AGNI-V INTERCONTINENTAL ballistic missile—a 5,000 km range missile that can reach Beijing and deep beyond—in December last year, China’s secretive People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) conducted an equally significant test. But one that was meant to be under the radar. In January, diplomatic circles in Beijing were abuzz with rumours that the PLARF had carried out its first-ever test of a Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV)—launched on a DF-5C intercontinental ballistic missile—carrying as many as 10 warheads, a capability many experts thought China didn’t possess.
The reported test was seen as significant as it suggested that China, which is thought to possess some 260 nuclear warheads—more than twice India’s estimated 120 but a small fraction of US’s 7,000—was moving towards a rapidly expanded stockpile, as a 10-warhead MIRV capability would require.
The tests pointed to what many experts say is the elephant in the room and an increasing source of mistrust in India’s ties with China. Both sides are rapidly acquiring conventional and nuclear deterrence capabilities, even if China’s arsenal still dwarfs India’s. But what is remarkable, and a source of concern for experts, is that none of this figures in talks between the countries at any level. The reason, according to Chinese officials and experts, is that Beijing still views India as an ‘illegal’ nuclear weapons state, and talking would ‘legalise’ India’s status.
この記事は India Today の March 20, 2017 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は India Today の March 20, 2017 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Falling Back On Ram
It’s not new from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by ‘Ram bhakt’ Arvind Kejriwal, but worth noting because god is in the details. It was Ram Navami on April 17.
Congress 'EQ' Vs BJP ‘IQ'
Team Modi Is Riding On Its Assembly Poll Momentum, But The Congress's Clever Candidate Mix May Prevent A Washout
The Macallan M 2023 debuts in India
Standing as a pinnacle of exclusivity, The Macallan M 2023 graces the shores of India with limited 10 handpicked bottles for whisky aficionados
Give it up for the science bros
They've got brains, brawn and billions in the bank. A new breed of wellness guru is doing for men what Gwyneth Paltrow did for women.
LIVING BY THE RULES
Chetan Bhagat returns to non-fiction with his new book-11 Rules for Life
The Mysterious City
Anuradha Kumar's The Kidnapping of Mark Twain paints an intriguing portrait of Bombay around the time of the American writer's visit
GOWDA KNOWS
Hot Stage, the third book in Anita Nair's Inspector Gowda mystery series, is here
WITH OUR OWN DESI SLEUTHS
Indian detective fiction gets its due in this massive, two-volume compilation from Hachette
PRIVATE PARADISE
Your home may well be your haven, but here are easy ways to make it your very own spa-dom.
Subversive IN SUBURBIA
A MONTH-LONG SHOW AT ART AND CHARLIE, MUMBAI, SHOWCASING THE WORKS OF POONAM JAIN AND YOGESH BARVE POSES SEVERAL QUESTIONS TO THE VIEWER