This is the first time in decades that China has made its flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile public in an apparent show of strategic deterrence, State-run China Daily reported.
With Pakistan moving towards tactical nuclear weapons, there is an increasingly higher risk of nuclear theft, a US think-tank report has warned ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington later this month.
'Pakistan has been successful in convincing the rest of the world that the Pakistani nuclear terrorists are meant to target only India. This is myopia at its worst,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'He is not that crazy.' 'He is driven by a deep sense of Russian power have been diminished.'
The new government must initiate a comprehensive review of India's nuclear weapons doctrine and posture. Ajai Shukla explains
'When the war against Ukraine that Putin started is not going the way he was expecting it to and his military options are getting onerous, a bit of nuclear sabre rattling is what he hopes will turn things around for him and Russia.'
Rediff.com present a comprehensive listing of the nuclear nations and their collective and active stockpile.
Pakistan's nuclear arsenal deterred India from carrying out any attacks and made the country's defence impregnable, former premier Nawaz Sharif has claimed.
'Putin is just flexing his muscles. He is not going to do anything. He is not that crazy.'
India's nuclear strategy, which has traditionally focused on Pakistan, now appears to place increased emphasis on China, the two experts claimed.
Pakistan's atomic arsenal probably consists of between 90 to 110 nuclear warheads, a latest Congressional report has said, informing the American lawmakers that Islamabad is interested in concluding a nuclear cooperation deal with the US, which would require their approval.
Stockpiles of the nations that are not recognised as nuclear weapon states under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty -- India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea -- are minuscule in comparison with those of Russia and the United States.
India has added roughly 10 nuclear warheads for a total of 90 to 110 in 2012; Pakistan has increased its warheads by about 10 to between 100 and 120; and China now has 250 against 240 in 2012, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in its annual report.
'The lesson Beijing would have learned is that there is, cost-benefit wise, no better option than to keep the Pakistan military supplied with its most advanced armaments, certain that in hostilities with India these would be used for maximum effect.'
Against the backdrop of a terror attack on a Karachi naval base, Defence minister A K Antony on Wednesday asked the forces to maintain operational readiness as India is living in a "volatile neighbourhood".
'With two nuclear neighbours, how likely is it for our armed forces to battle in a contaminated environment that could include nuclear, biological or chemical attacks by the adversary?' 'Are we prepared for the threat?' Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd) explains the meaning and significance of Operation Vijay Prahar.
Khan in his message on Pakistan's Defence and Martyrs Day said his government has launched a proactive diplomatic campaign in the world capitals and at the United Nations to apprise the world community about Kashmir after India revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status on August 5.
It is a 'cause for security concern' to India, Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta told media persons in New Delhi when asked about the revelations by satellite pictures that China had amassed five nuclear submarines carrying long range missiles. Defence Minister A K Antony sought to be evasive on the subject, saying the country's armed forces are capable of taking 'full care of our security interests' whether it is sea lanes or land borders.
'Once the military starts to draw up plans for using nuclear weapons, then nuclear weapons could be used earlier in a crisis than otherwise.'
Senator John Cornyn, Senate Majority Whip for the 114th Congress, in a letter to Obama, has said "it is ill-advised" to pursue any civil nuclear agreement with Pakistan.
The missile, developed by the DRDO, has a range of 3,500 km and it will be able to bring almost all parts of Pakistan and several areas of China within its reach, officials said.
Pakistan expressed concern over what it described as India's "massive" induction of advanced weapon systems and adoption of "offensive" military doctrines and said it would not compromise on the maintenance of a credible minimum nuclear deterrence.
Cyber terror is the new danger that haunts cops, says security analyst B Raman
Pakistan's fourth heavy water reactor at Khushab nuclear site which allows it to build a larger number of miniaturised plutonium-based nuclear weapons now appears to be operational, a US think-tank has said.
Leaders of the two countries, however, did discuss on Pakistan's nuclear safety and security which is an ongoing discussion.
Trump has played throughout his career as a deal-maker who could deliver where others could not, and Ukraine represents the ultimate test of that image, notes Manish Dabhade.
Serious question marks remain over how effectively, or whether at all, India can actually execute a disarming CF strike that takes out most of Pakistan's nukes, says Ajai Shukla.
The report said that Pakistan will retain its capabilities for the foreseeable future as a necessary deterrent against perceived existential threats from India.
'Every decision India makes along the LoC, it must also consider implications along the LAC.'
'The touchstone is reciprocity which will be applied to friends and foes alike.' 'It will be a bitter pill to swallow.'
We bring forth to our readers the list of nations sitting on a nuclear stockpile, based on the study findings:
While Pakistan is estimated to possess 70-90 nuclear weapons, India is believed to have 60-80, claims Robert S Norris and Hans M Kristensen in their latest article 'Nuclear Notebook: Worldwide deployments of nuclear weapons, 2009'.
The CDS will have a significant role in higher defence planning and operational aspects of India's nuclear arsenal.
Amid growing global concern over safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenals, India today said battlefield atomic weapons of that country were at the heart of such apprehensions.
Harsh V Pant says leakage of Pakistan's nukes is a bigger worry than the number of warheads in its arsenal.
'When human beings develop these dangerous toys and leave their control in the hands of aggressive megalomaniac politicians, the threat of a nuclear holocaust is always lurking on the horizon.'
"It's [part of] a greater design," Janjua said at a seminar on 'Pakistan's case for NSA membership' on Tuesday.
Pakistan's National Security Adviser Nasser Janjua has alleged that America's efforts to include India in the Nuclear Suppliers Group was part of a "greater design" to contain China and prevent the resurgence of Russia.
'Indians need to think clearly about what kind of future they are going to have with a Pakistan that has the fastest growing nuclear arsenal in the world, and more terrorists per square mile than any other place in the world.' Erstwhile Central Intelligence Agency veteran Bruce Riedel speaks to Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa in an exclusive interview.
The study also said that the war would plunge the world into a "nuclear winter" that could lead to global climate catastrophe.
