NEW DELHI: According to a report, “the growth of militant Islamic fundamentalism in areas adjacent to India” underlines the possibility that New Delhi and Washington will share common security concerns in the years ahead.”
On the contentious issue of nuclear nonproliferation, the study surmised that no government in New Delhi could survive if it abandoned the nuclear option for India in a regional and global environment in which nuclear weapons continued to be the ultimate coin of power.
It suggested that India, without signing the NPT, should unilaterally make a formal pledge to abide by the NPT provisions barring the export of nuclear weapons or of military related nuclear technology.
On missile development, the study group recognized that India’s Agni and Prithvi missile programs were far advanced.
They enjoyed overwhelming domestic support and were not likely to be reversed by external political and economic pressures,” In strategic terms, the emergence of India as a major military power with a naval reach encompassing, the Arabian sea and much of the Indian ocean and potentially the Persian Gulf underlined the importance of maintaining and en hancing a friendly relationship with the Indian armed forces, the group said in its report.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 12, 1993
