India test-fires 5,000 km Nuclear capable Agni-V ICBM missile

[randolph85]

India is the doormat of the US. India can never be a threat to China at this moment, and will never be accepted in the East as a power to reckon with.

Like Pakistan, India is full of corruption at the highest levels, and due this widespread corruption, India can never translate their growth into real influence and power. The slave-like mentality holds India back too far.

A truly bold and independent country is Argentina that just nationalized their OIL. Thats called guts, and thats far better than conducting a missile test to both serve the interests of the West in stirring up regional discord, and also be the doormat of the West, after Pakistan off course.

lol you act as if argentina wouldn't jump at the chance for this kind of technology. if their military industry was up to par, they wouldn't have the issue of the falkand islands with the UK because it would of already of belonged to them.

india is shady in its foreign policy, but not any more than china or any other country for that matter. i am pretty sure india didn't have western ball and chains in mind when it decided to develop and launch this missile. there has been regional discord long before the british landed their ships on the subcontinent so lets not act like if the west were to disappear than there would be harmony in asia.

[faye]

^ the best post iv ever read from you

well, you must have just missed all the other good ones. your loss.

[KhalsaWarrior]

India is the doormat of the US. India can never be a threat to China at this moment, and will never be accepted in the East as a power to reckon with.

Like Pakistan, India is full of corruption at the highest levels, and due this widespread corruption, India can never translate their growth into real influence and power. The slave-like mentality holds India back too far.

A truly bold and independent country is Argentina that just nationalized their OIL. Thats called guts, and thats far better than conducting a missile test to both serve the interests of the West in stirring up regional discord, and also be the doormat of the West, after Pakistan off course.

Your view is typical of noobs fed on one-sided view of the world. If you'd have spent 15 minutes Googling India's foreign policy since its independence you'd have learnt far more than you could ever imagine. Heck, even a Chinese newspaper said India has an independent foreign policy.

India has one of the most independent foreign policies in the world. Period.

From Independence to 71, India was primarily a neutral but leaned towards western support for its industrial, economic and political needs. Right from know-how for hydroprojects, nuclear reactors to heavy industries and military needs India relied on the West.

71, brought about huge change as the US decided to help Pakistan instead of India in the Bangladesh War and India leaned towards Russia. Thus began 25 years of pro-Soviet era.

Late 90s to present, The late 90s brought economic progress along with gains in human capital . This attracted the West and it opened its arms. Western countries invested in industrial an military technology in India. India found alternatives for Russian hardware and was courted by the West. Result, the Indo-US nuclear deal and similar deals with France, Germany etc. Even Australia came around from its stance of not supplying India any nuclear fuel. The commonwealth countries in general were always friendlier to India. This period also brought about increased military collaboration with the Israelis who saw Pakistan based terror groups as a common foe. India is still a Russian friend, with more than 60% of its military equipment still coming from them.

You can say India's been selfish all these years, siding with whoever met the purpose. But thats how it is in the real world. Ideologies count for nothing in the real world. Even China's biggest trading partner is the US and vice-versa for US.

Need some other facts?

India was able to avoid Western pressure and vote a no on Iran sanctions in the US. It continues to import Iranian gas, in addition to developing the Chabahar port in Iran.

Guess who's India's biggest trading partner? China! The missiles serve as a deterrent.

India held off US pressure and didn't buy American fighter jets in a $10b deal, touted as the world's biggest defense contract.

Now, I hope you will reevaluate your opinions about India rather than falling for propaganda. The only reason India supports the US war is because it suits its purpose. In the words of Kissinger " There are no permanent friends in realpolitik, only permanent interests".

[KhalsaWarrior]

I wonder who gains most from this, India already had Pakistan covered so for Pakistan this doesn't change much..but going after china like this might just stir up further hostilities in addition to prompting china to further the pace of their weapons development.

Very interested to know the motivation behind this.

I'd agree, this does help the US in a way. But it will be a mistake to see it only in the US context. India wants to maintain a credible military deterrent against China. The terrain on the Indo-China border is such that infantry and tanks are rendered rather useless, so missiles are a primary means of defense and attack. Hence the focus on missiles. With this missile India covers all of Chinese industrial centres located far out to the east. I dont think it will focus on a longer range from now on. It will probably research or buy to make the existing technologies better. Or focus on cruise missiles.

China is substantially ahead of India in missile development. They had India covered a decade ago. Their ICBMs cover the US. India as a military foe for China is similar to Pakistan as a military foe for India. Not too big to defeat it but big enough to be a nuisance and hamper economic growth if ever engaged in an all out war. And that is why I do not see an Sino-Indo military conflict. Both countries are developing and have got too much to lose and cant compromise all the growth of recent years.

[faye]

khalsa, i saw that india reneged on that deal for the jets. did they buy from russia, instead?

[haviZsultan]

These tests aren't uncommon in the region.

[Admin Khan]

Given how far behind India is, when compared to China, in nearly every field, this test fire will serve as a deterrent. Nothing more, nothing less. India, given that she has some minor issues with China, doesn't want China to even get the slightest Idea that they can push them around.

It makes perfect sense, when you think about it from an Indian POV.

[Admin Khan]

India is the doormat of the US.

Is that the reason why India continues to conduct business with the so called great devil, Iran? You need to realize that you can't judge a nation of 1 billion with a few misaligned sentences. India, for the most part, hasn't served US interests to the extent Washington would hope it would.

[Shah-i-Kot]

Your view is typical of noobs fed on one-sided view of the world. If you'd have spent 15 minutes Googling India's foreign policy since its independence you'd have learnt far more than you could ever imagine. Heck, even a Chinese newspaper said India has an independent foreign policy.

India has one of the most independent foreign policies in the world. Period.

From Independence to 71, India was primarily a neutral but leaned towards western support for its industrial, economic and political needs. Right from know-how for hydroprojects, nuclear reactors to heavy industries and military needs India relied on the West.

71, brought about huge change as the US decided to help Pakistan instead of India in the Bangladesh War and India leaned towards Russia. Thus began 25 years of pro-Soviet era.

Late 90s to present, The late 90s brought economic progress along with gains in human capital . This attracted the West and it opened its arms. Western countries invested in industrial an military technology in India. India found alternatives for Russian hardware and was courted by the West. Result, the Indo-US nuclear deal and similar deals with France, Germany etc. Even Australia came around from its stance of not supplying India any nuclear fuel. The commonwealth countries in general were always friendlier to India. This period also brought about increased military collaboration with the Israelis who saw Pakistan based terror groups as a common foe. India is still a Russian friend, with more than 60% of its military equipment still coming from them.

You can say India's been selfish all these years, siding with whoever met the purpose. But thats how it is in the real world. Ideologies count for nothing in the real world. Even China's biggest trading partner is the US and vice-versa for US.

Need some other facts?

India was able to avoid Western pressure and vote a no on Iran sanctions in the US. It continues to import Iranian gas, in addition to developing the Chabahar port in Iran.

Guess who's India's biggest trading partner? China! The missiles serve as a deterrent.

India held off US pressure and didn't buy American fighter jets in a $10b deal, touted as the world's biggest defense contract.

Now, I hope you will reevaluate your opinions about India rather than falling for propaganda. The only reason India supports the US war is because it suits its purpose. In the words of Kissinger " There are no permanent friends in realpolitik, only permanent interests".

India would be wise to start developing an independent policy in regards to Afghanistan instead of with the lackey regime of Kharzai whose rule does not even extend beyond Kabul. What the Kharzai government says and does is of no consequence.


My statement in saying India is a doormat is credible since the missile test they conducted was ONLY meant as a deterrent towards China-and no one else for that matter. Hence, this missile test only stirred up regional discord. Chinese analysts pointed out that India has 8000 km range, not 5000 km range, but that India is hiding this in order to not alarm their Western friends - that is nothing else but being a doormat. So India is only intent on sending a message to China?

Instead of developing common interests with nations in closest proximity, India has aligned themselves with the West, a sinking ship that is long past sailing.

[randolph85]

India would be wise to start developing an independent policy in regards to Afghanistan instead of with the lackey regime of Kharzai whose rule does not even extend beyond Kabul. What the Kharzai government says and does is of no consequence.


My statement in saying India is a doormat is credible since the missile test they conducted was ONLY meant as a deterrent towards China-and no one else for that matter. Hence, this missile test only stirred up regional discord. Chinese analysts pointed out that India has 8000 km range, not 5000 km range, but that India is hiding this in order to not alarm their Western friends - that is nothing else but being a doormat. So India is only intent on sending a message to China?

Instead of developing common interests with nations in closest proximity, India has aligned themselves with the West, a sinking ship that is long past sailing.

considering that the only real wars india has had since its birth have been against pakistan and china, a deterrent against china makes sense. so the question is, why wouldn't india want to send a message to china? india and china have had beef for decades, since india was pro soviet and semi-anti western.

[Shah-i-Kot]

considering that the only real wars india has had since its birth have been against pakistan and china, a deterrent against china makes sense. so the question is, why wouldn't india want to send a message to china? india and china have had beef for decades, since india was pro soviet and semi-anti western.

China and India both have a large trade volume. India and China are in the same region. It never makes sense to start raising regional discord, especially with a regional power such as China. India would suffer the potential fall out, not the European countries cheering them on.

Raising regional discord only serves Western geopolitical interests.

[randolph85]

but this regional discord has been going on for a long time, and the west has nothing to do with it. there is a territorial dispute between the nations and they have been at war in the past because of it. if the west were to vanish, there would still be a competition in asia for power. when china started building up its war machine decades ago, do you think they had the west in mind or regional enemies?

[Admin Khan]

My statement in saying India is a doormat is credible since the missile test they conducted was ONLY meant as a deterrent towards China-and no one else for that matter.

Says who?

[Shah-i-Kot]

says India.

Their current range before the missile test already covers Pakistan obviously, so thats out of question.

The only nation this missile test was directed at was China, and it was the start of an attempt to contain China's rise and ambition.

http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-india-cut-agni-5-range-under-nato-pressure-says-china/20120423.htm

[KhalsaWarrior]

khalsa, i saw that india reneged on that deal for the jets. did they buy from russia, instead?

Nope French Rafale was selected. It was a smart move. The French had reneged on a submarine deal with Pakistan a year and a half back and had firmly backed India in many other global forums. So this was a kind of 'thanks' to them.

How would India renege with the US? India didnt make any previous promise to buy American jets. It was an open tender, a very protracted one at that.

The Americans were pissed because they thought India would actually reciprocate for the nuclear deal and buy their jets. But their jets, which were of older tech didnt quite ace the trials and came behind the French Rafale and the Euro Typhoon.

Plus the Americans have a checquered history of honoring commitments. Pakistan is a prime example. They reneged on the F16 deal in the late 80s after they had used Pakistanis in Afghansitan and Russians withdrew. So they cant really be trusted with something so substantial as a $10b deal for 120 jets.