Ajatshatru
Broken In
India Reports a Long-Range Missile Test
NEW DELHI, July 9 — India test-fired its longest-range nuclear-capable missile on Sunday for the first time, government officials said. But although the missile was launched, it was unclear whether the entire test was successful, with at least one report saying that the missile had failed at some point in its flight.
The launching has occurred at a time of rising international tension over North Korea's recent missile tests, and as the United States Congress is considering a civilian nuclear pact that the Bush administration negotiated with India.
While the pact does not concern missile tests or other military activity, its critics say the Bush administration failed to obtain any commitment from India to stop producing new nuclear weapons fuel, or to restrict its production of new weapons. The test of the Agni 3 missile (agni means fire in Hindi) appeared intended to show that India's strategic arsenal could reach far beyond Pakistan and cover territory including China.
The missile is reported to have a range of more than 1,800 miles. The Defense Ministry said it had been launched from Wheeler Island, off the coast of Orissa State in the Bay of Bengal, and had taken off successfull
But later, the Press Trust of India news agency quoted an unidentified military official as saying that the missile had developed troubles, perhaps in the firing of its second stage, and had not completed the test successfully.
A Defense Ministry spokesman, Sitanshu Kar, would not comment on the report other than to say, "The missile took off successfully, and the rest of the data need to be analyzed, in a day or two, to come to a conclusion."
India and neighboring Pakistan have often traded rounds of missile and nuclear tests in times of tension between them. But relations between the nations have improved lately, and the governments have a standing agreement to inform each other before such tests. On Sunday, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry confirmed that India had told it about the test in advance.
While short-range missiles are enough to keep India and Pakistan in mutual range, analysts have seen India's development of long-range ballistic missiles, and the continuing development of its nuclear weapons program, as a strategic step to keep China in check. The listed range of the Agni 3, hundreds of miles longer than that of other missiles India has tested, would put more of China's major cities within striking distance.
In the past two years, tensions between India and China have lessened somewhat, and direct border trade between them reopened last week along the storied Silk Road through the Himalayas for the first time since they fought a war 44 years ago.
The BBC reported that before the launching on Sunday, India had twice postponed tests on the Agni 3, once for technical reasons and once because of concern about the international response while it was trying to seal its civilian nuclear deal with the Bush administration. In May, the Indian defense minister, Pranab Mukherjee, was quoted as saying that the missile was ready but that India was observing "self-imposed restraint" before testing.
The nuclear deal between India and the United States is under review by Congress and would, in effect, remove all United States restrictions on nuclear trade with India that are in place because India has refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The only other countries to refuse are Israel and Pakistan. North Korea withdrew from the treaty three years ago.
Under the deal, the United States would give vital help to the Indian civilian nuclear program, including uranium for fuel for civilian reactors. The United States would not provide any fuel for Indian weapons, but critics have pointed out that it would essentially free the limited Indian uranium supplies for weapons production. The agreement contains no restriction on how much or how fast India could increase the size of its nuclear arsenal.
www.nytimes.com
NEW DELHI, July 9 — India test-fired its longest-range nuclear-capable missile on Sunday for the first time, government officials said. But although the missile was launched, it was unclear whether the entire test was successful, with at least one report saying that the missile had failed at some point in its flight.
The launching has occurred at a time of rising international tension over North Korea's recent missile tests, and as the United States Congress is considering a civilian nuclear pact that the Bush administration negotiated with India.
While the pact does not concern missile tests or other military activity, its critics say the Bush administration failed to obtain any commitment from India to stop producing new nuclear weapons fuel, or to restrict its production of new weapons. The test of the Agni 3 missile (agni means fire in Hindi) appeared intended to show that India's strategic arsenal could reach far beyond Pakistan and cover territory including China.
The missile is reported to have a range of more than 1,800 miles. The Defense Ministry said it had been launched from Wheeler Island, off the coast of Orissa State in the Bay of Bengal, and had taken off successfull
But later, the Press Trust of India news agency quoted an unidentified military official as saying that the missile had developed troubles, perhaps in the firing of its second stage, and had not completed the test successfully.
A Defense Ministry spokesman, Sitanshu Kar, would not comment on the report other than to say, "The missile took off successfully, and the rest of the data need to be analyzed, in a day or two, to come to a conclusion."
India and neighboring Pakistan have often traded rounds of missile and nuclear tests in times of tension between them. But relations between the nations have improved lately, and the governments have a standing agreement to inform each other before such tests. On Sunday, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry confirmed that India had told it about the test in advance.
While short-range missiles are enough to keep India and Pakistan in mutual range, analysts have seen India's development of long-range ballistic missiles, and the continuing development of its nuclear weapons program, as a strategic step to keep China in check. The listed range of the Agni 3, hundreds of miles longer than that of other missiles India has tested, would put more of China's major cities within striking distance.
In the past two years, tensions between India and China have lessened somewhat, and direct border trade between them reopened last week along the storied Silk Road through the Himalayas for the first time since they fought a war 44 years ago.
The BBC reported that before the launching on Sunday, India had twice postponed tests on the Agni 3, once for technical reasons and once because of concern about the international response while it was trying to seal its civilian nuclear deal with the Bush administration. In May, the Indian defense minister, Pranab Mukherjee, was quoted as saying that the missile was ready but that India was observing "self-imposed restraint" before testing.
The nuclear deal between India and the United States is under review by Congress and would, in effect, remove all United States restrictions on nuclear trade with India that are in place because India has refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The only other countries to refuse are Israel and Pakistan. North Korea withdrew from the treaty three years ago.
Under the deal, the United States would give vital help to the Indian civilian nuclear program, including uranium for fuel for civilian reactors. The United States would not provide any fuel for Indian weapons, but critics have pointed out that it would essentially free the limited Indian uranium supplies for weapons production. The agreement contains no restriction on how much or how fast India could increase the size of its nuclear arsenal.
www.nytimes.com
