Senior Policy Director John Erath spoke with India Weekly about the first test of the Agni-5 missile and its implications for Asian regional politics.
John Erath, senior policy director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Washington DC, USA, believes that diplomacy is still the best option available.
He told India Weekly that Beijing pretends not to be worried about the Indian deterrence, preferring to “justify” its unconstrained nuclear buildup by citing greater US (and Russian) numbers.
“It is significant, however, that the great majority of Chinese missiles cannot reach U.S. territory but can strike most of India. An India-China arms race is in no one’s interest, especially since both parties already have the capability to deter each other. In the end, deploying new and improved weapons systems is no substitute for diplomacy and conflict prevention,” he said.
On the question of India’s NFU policy and how it aligns with the MIRV technology, Erath said an NFU stance is only effective insofar as it is credible and building nuclear warfighting capabilities could well undermine that credibility.
Erath, however, feels that India already has missiles that can strike potential adversaries adequately for deterrence, and therefore the increased capabilities are “somewhat redundant”. He warned that such capabilities would be significant only in a nuclear warfighting scenario, and a nuclear war is one everyone loses. Read more
