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Without weaponisation, going nuclear makes no sense, says Fernandes

Defence Minister George Fernandes has, for the first time since the five nuclear tests in Pokhran, openly supported the idea of inducting nuclear weapons in the Indian armed forces.

In an interview to Star News, Fernandes said, ''Without weaponisation, this whole question of being a nuclear weapons state does not make any sense.'' He went on to say that ''nuclear weaponisation is necessary, and in the ultimate analysis, inevitable.''

When asked whether this meant that missiles used by the Indian armed forces will now be equipped with nuclear warheads, the defence minister agreed, saying, ''That is precisely what it is.'' Exercising the nuclear option, Fernandes said, ''means weaponisation.''

Fernandes added that as of now, no time-frame has been set to complete the weaponisation process. ''The timing will depend on our defence and threat perceptions which keep changing.''

But, he said, the Indian government's decision to impose a unilateral moratorium on further nuclear testing will not affect the weaponisation programme. ''Insofar as our scientists are concerned,'' the defence minister said, ''They feel that Pokhran II has given them sufficient material already for weaponisation,'' he said.

Fernandes said that weaponisation did not hold the threat of nuclear war.

Arguing that nuclear weapons have always been seen as a deterrent, he said that ''no one is talking of nuclear war. There is only one instance when nuclear weapons were used, and we know the circumstances. Nuclear weapons will only be a deterrent,'' he said.

He admitted that his views on the issue had changed since Pokhran I. ''My position shifted after the manner in which the nuclear powers sought to force us to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty which is a plain discriminatory regime,'' he said.

The defence minister, however, did not agree that the strategic balance in the subcontinent had changed after Pokhran II. "Our defence priorities are still the same. We are facing a proxy war in Kashmir and an insurgency in the North-East. Those remain our priority areas and the situation on the ground is the same. The difference perhaps is that where earlier 50 rounds were being fired by Pak artillery on the border, today they are firing one hundred," he said.

Fernandes, who had sparked off a controversy with his reported remarks about China, said he did not believe that the post-Pokhran situation had altered the Sino-Indian relationship. ''There is a dialogue between the two countries, there are joint working groups which have been set up. I expected these to continue,'' he said.

UNI

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