ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

India can now sign CTBT: defence expert

Having tested its deterrent capability to satisfaction, the decks are now cleared for India to open talks on signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

So feels noted defence expert K Subramanyam.

Subramanyam, however, added the rider that India should sign the treaty only if it is accepted as a nuclear power, and no sanctions are imposed on it.

"These tests have given India a certain amount of deterrent power, which was needed as India has two nuclear-capable nations in its immediate neighbourhood," the expert pointed out.

Asked if the five tests carried out thus far this week would fuel an arms race, Subramanyam said that was mere alarmist thinking. "China and Pakistan have nuclear weapons capability, and are actively collaborating on nuclear and missile technology programmes. No other country faces a situation like this," he said, adding, "If at all there is any justification for any country to embark on a nuclear deterrent programme, then we have it."

The defence analyst pointed out that now, having come out of the closet as a nuclear weapons state, India could afford to renew its offer of "no first strike".

International condemnation? Not a problem, says Subramanyam. "The choice was clearly between being a second class power subject to the world's diktats, or a power with equal sovereignity as any other. Once the world sees India sticking to its guns, it would come round to our viewpoint," he said, indicating that in his opinion, sanctions would not last for more than two months.

Speaking of the national consensus on the issue, Subramanyam pointed out that nuclear testing could not be done overnight. "The preparations for what we did now, have been going on under the last three or four governments," he said. "These acts are obviously based on consensus."

Having taken a hard line, Subramanyam, however, tempered it with a warning that India should avoid the mistakes made by the United States and Russia in stockpiling huge inventories of warheads.

"I agree with former army chief General K Sundarji who said that about 150 nuclear bombs or warheads are enough to maintain India's defence capability," the defence expert said.

Tell us what you think of this report