Asia Times: India spells out tough nuclear doctrine



	August 19, 1999	atimes.com

India/Pakistan

India spells out tough nuclear doctrine
By Ranjit Dev Raj

NEW DELHI - India has spelt out a tough nuclear doctrine which reiterates ''no first use'' but retains operational readiness and a capability to survive and retaliate in the event of a nuclear attack.

Enunciating the doctrine in a draft document released at a press conference, National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra said the doctrine was ''not country specific'' and was based on the principle of ''minimum but credible deterrence''. ''We should not be the object of a nuclear attack . . . we should remain in a position to retaliate''.

The document, released for ''public debate and discussion'' before final approval, said India's nuclear force will be based on ''triad of aircraft, mobile land-based missiles and sea-based assets''.

Mishra, regarded as the country's most powerful bureaucrat, said India's nuclear arsenal was firmly in civilian control and under the single authority of the prime minister. There was, Mishra assured the press, an elaborate commandand control structure as well as a chain of command. But he refused to divulge details on who else down the chain gets to press the button, citing security reasons.

India set off a series of nuclear blasts intended to weaponize its nuclear program in May last year but triggered off a nuclear arms race on the sub-continent when Pakistan responded with a rivalling series of tests within days. Both India and Pakistan then came under pressure from the United States to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and were subjected to economic sanctions which hurt India and crippled Pakistan's economy.

Mishra said India's decision to go nuclear was ''necessitated by the security environment in the region'', and that its final position on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty would have to wait until after the elections in September and October.

According to him, the principle of nuclear deterrence actually prevented escalation of the recent fierce border conflict with Pakistan in the Kargil area of disputed Kashmir ''beyond certain situations'' India, Mishra said, was taken by surprise in Kargil and he hoped that this would not happen again.

The fighting in Kargil, regarded as an undeclared war because it involved fighter aircraft, heavy artillery and infantry assaults, lasted 10 weeks in the months of May, June and July. It ended after US President Bill Clinton pressured Pakistan to withdraw a mix of army regulars, Islamic mujahideen (religious freedom fighters) and Kashmiri militants.

But tension between the two countries has remained high through continuing attacks on Indian army camps deep inside Kashmir by roving bands of infiltrators. Last week, Indian fighter planes shot down a Pakistan naval surveillance aircraft with 16 personnel on board, claiming that it was engaged in ''finger-printing'' Indian radar installations on the border. Pakistan, however, said the plane was unarmed and on a routine training flight. On Monday, Pakistan Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz demanded compensation for the loss of the aircraft and personnel from India.

Since the Kargil conflict broke out, diplomatic initiatives to reduce tensions between the two countries have collapsed and India has refused to resume dialogue until Pakistan ''stops sponsoring cross-border terrorism'' in Kashmir.

A foreign ministry spokesman described the release of the draft nuclear doctrine as a ''mature, civilized and responsible way of doing things''.

According to the document, India's primary objective is to ''achieve economic, political, social, scientific and technological development within a peaceful and democratic framework''. It emphasises autonomy of decision-making in the developmental process and in strategic matters as an ''inalienable democratic right of the Indian people''.

India, the document said, would ''strenuously guard this right in a world where nuclear weapons for a select few are sought to be legitimized for an indefinite future and where there is growing complexity and frequency in the use of force for political purposes''.

(Inter Press Service)

asian sex gazette