India Sunday successfully carried out its first test of a
nuclear-capable ballistic missile with a range of 4,000 kilometers,
defence officials said.
The Agni-III missile was launched from Wheeler Island, 180
kilometers northeast of Bhubaneshwar in the eastern state of
Orissa, they said on condition of anonymity.
In May Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said the Agni-III,
India's longest-range ballistic missile, was ready but that the
country was observing "self-imposed restraint" before testing.
Opposition parties criticized the announcement, saying testing
was being delayed because of pressure from the United States. New
Delhi and Washington reached a landmark deal in March that will see
sanctions lifted on India's access to civilian nuclear
technology.
Sunday's test launch comes just four days after North Korea
sparked an international outcry by test-firing seven missiles.
A highly-placed Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) source said the Indian test was "successful."
He said scientists had detected a snag in the booster rocket
system of the Agni-III two weeks ago and had delayed its test. "Now
we have papered over the problem and hence the launch window was
chosen as Sunday," he said.
The missile was tracked during take-off, re-entry into the
Earth's atmosphere and splashdown in the Bay of Bengal, another
defence official said.
The Agni is one of five missiles being developed by the DRDO
under its Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme launched
in 1983. The others are the Prithvi, the surface-to-air Trishul
(Trident), multi-purpose Akash (Sky), and the anti-tank Nag
(Cobra).
India and Pakistan, who have fought three wars since
independence in 1947, routinely notify each other of missile
tests.
The two countries came to the brink of a fourth war in the
summer of 2002 following a December 2001 attack on India's
parliament by suspected Pakistan-backed militants. Islamabad denied
any role in the attack.
But in January 2004 the two sides began a peace process that has
led to a ceasefire in the divided Himalayan state of Kashmir, the
cause of two of the wars.
C. Uday Bhaskar, deputy head of the government funded Institute
of Defence Studies and Analyses, said India's nuclear and missile
programs should not be seen as country specific.
"Countries acquire strategic capabilities that are of generic
nature. Our program is not predicated on a single point threat. It
is always in relation to the international strategic environment,"
Bhaskar said.
(China Daily July 10, 2006)
