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Shahid K Abbas in New Delhi
Initial reports of the successful test of the long-range Agni-III ballistic missile near Cuttack and the hurried clarification by external affairs spokeswoman Nirupama Rao that the weapon tested in the Bay of Bengal had an actual range of less than 700km caused some confusion in the capital on Friday.
The Agni series of missiles being developed to carry nuclear warheads has in the past been tested to a range of more than 2400km and can carry a payload of up to 1 tonne.
The clarification is seen as an attempt to clear any misgivings that China may have had about the test. The Agni-III normally has a range of 5000km, capable of reaching several important targets in China.
A senior defence expert said the test of a shorter-range variant was part of a series of steps to guarantee the credibility of India's nuclear second-strike capability and bring every strategic location in Pakistan within range.
This version of the Agni also counters the possibility of sabotage hurting India's missile strike force. The Agni uses solid fuel while the short-range Prithvi missile, which hitherto was the only system targeting Pakistan, uses liquid fuel that has to be filled in at the time of launch.
The latest test will give India an edge over Pakistan's Chinese-made M-11 and M-19 missile. Only a day before the test, the army chief, General S Padmanabhan, had told the parliamentary standing committee attached to the defence ministry that the Agni missile would improve India's superiority over Pakistan to a ratio of at least 1:4 (or 40 per cent). The ratio had slipped over the last three decades from 1:7 to 1:2.
Spokeswoman Rao also pointed out that the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council as well as Pakistan, Germany, Japan and Spain, holder of the European Union presidency, had been informed in advance of the test.
"Our aim is to ensure that we have the indigenous capability to guarantee the credibility of our minimum nuclear deterrent and the test was undertaken in a non-provocative manner across international waters," she said, asserting that it had "no relationship to any event".
EARLIER REPORTS: India test-fires Agni-3 Test evokes mixed reactions A threat to regional stability: Pakistan India must have missiles with longer range: RSS
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