- (AFP) - India tested a new short-range version of its
intermediate, nuclear-capable Agni missile, prompting angry condemnation
from Pakistan and raising concerns of a fresh escalation in military
tensions
between the South Asian rivals.
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- Military analysts said the missile, with a range of just
under 700 kilometers (440 miles), had been developed specifically with
Pakistan in mind, although the Indian government firmly denied any
suggestion
of provocation.
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- The missile was tested at around 8:50 am (0320 GMT) from
the Chandipur test range off the eastern coastal state of Orissa.
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- "The test was taken in a non-provocative manner
across international waters," foreign ministry spokeswoman Nirupama
Rao said, adding Pakistan had been informed in advance, along with the
five nuclear powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United
States.
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- A defence ministry statement said the mission's
objectives
were "fully met" and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said
it was just one of "several steps" aimed at boosting national
security.
-
- The test came a day after UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan,
on a visit to Islamabad, stressed the need for an immediate de-escalation
of military tensions between India and Pakistan.
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- A Pakistani foreign office statement condemned the test
as potentially destabilising and ill-timed.
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- "We hope the international community will take note
of this Indian behaviour which is prejudicial to the pursuit of stability
in our region, especially during the current situation," the statement
said.
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- Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf Saturday pressed
Vajpayee to agree to peace talks and a cooling of military tensions in
a Republic Day message to the Indian leader.
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- "I would like to reiterate our readiness to engage
in a serious and sustained dialogue with India to commence together a
journey
of peace and progress," he told Vajpayee.
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- The European Union said the test sent a "negative
signal" to the world.
-
- "Give the high degree of tension that exists
currently
in the region, the European Union considers that the test of a ballistic
missile ... risks sending a negative signal to the region and to the entire
international community at a moment when it is extremely important to
exercise
restraint," Spain said in a statement.
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- US Secretary of State Colin Powell lamented the test
but said he did not believe it would further inflame tensions.
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- "I would just as soon they had not performed that
test at this time but I don't think it will inflame the situation
particularly,"
Powell said.
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- India and Pakistan have been readied for war -- with
an estimated 800,000 troops massed on their common border -- since New
Delhi blamed two Pakistan-based militant groups for the deadly December
13 attack on its parliament.
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- India has refused to order its troops to stand down until
so-called "cross-border terrorism" ceases, despite a crackdown
on Islamic extremism in Pakistan and repeated appeals for restraint from
Washington and the United Nations.
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- "For the nation's security and protection, we are
taking several steps and Agni is one among them," Prime Minister
Vajpayee
said.
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- President K.R. Narayanan said the test would "go
a long way in ensuring self-reliance and indigenisation of our defence
production capacity."
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- Rao insisted the test had been planned far in advance
and the timing on the eve of India's Republic Day was determined
"solely
by technical factors" and carried no political message.
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- "It has no political significance or relationship
to any political event," Rao said, dismissing suggestions that the
test would fuel border tensions with Pakistan.
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- "Not at all. We have conducted this test in a
transparent
and predictable way," she said.
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- The Agni series of missiles, which can be fired from
mobile launchers, was initially developed to provide a credible nuclear
deterrent to China. The Agni II, last tested on January 2001, has a maximum
range of 2,500 kilometers (1,560 miles).
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- But Brahma Chellaney, professor of strategic studies
at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, said the missile tested
Friday was a striking strategic addition to the nuclear arsenal aimed at
Pakistan, which has so far been dominated by the fixed, silo-based Prithvi
missile.
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- "It is a surprise that they have sprung and it
drives
home the message in the current face-off that India can hit any nook and
corner of Pakistan and is fully prepared to call Pakistan's nuclear
bluff,"
Chellaney said.
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- Pakistan, unlike India, has reserved the option of a
nuclear first strike.
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- "This Agni is a military, political and diplomatic
missile," said Rahul Bedi of Jane's Defence Weekly.
-
- Lieutenant General (retd.) V.R. Raghavan, head of the
Delhi Policy Group security think-tank, said the test sent out
"powerful
signals to the east, west and major powers that India's policies will be
guided by its own national security interests."
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- The fact that India decided against postponing the
mission
despite the current crisis with Pakistan "just shows that India is
unwilling to let the pressure on Pakistan come down," Raghavan told
the Star television network.
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- Indian Home Minister L.K. Advani said the test should
have taken place earlier but was "put off twice," possibly for
"technical reasons."
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