What They Said: India Fires Agni V - Wall Street Journal (blog)

By Preetika Rana

Indian Ministry of Defense/Associated Press

‘Agni-V’ being fired off the western Indian coast of Orissa, Wednesday.

On Wednesday, India successfully test-fired “Agni-V,” a long-range nuclear-capable missile. The range enables the missile to comfortably travel as far as Beijing and Shanghai, which experts viewed as a decisive step in narrowing the nation’s military gap with China.

The successful launch of the missile off the western Indian coast of Orissa trigged a patriotic response in India. While most Indian editorials praised the launch, the news didn’t go down that well in China, with some Chinese publications responding acidly.

Here’s a roundup of what several Indian and Chinese newspapers said about the test launch:

“An awesome success,” is how the Pioneer described the launch in a Friday editorial. This “is without doubt a feather in the cap of Indian scientists.” But the “real achievement,” the editorial claimed, is that the launch means India is now part of the “exclusive club” of countries with intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Highlighting recent political differences between China and India, the piece went on to say that it was “natural” for New Delhi to develop a powerful defense mechanism.

“India has the right to assess the threat to its security and build an effective deterrence that meets the requirements of its threat perception,” the editorial argued.  But “this is not to say that the missile…. has been developed and launched with the intent to strike China or that it’s an offensive weapon.”

The piece further argued that India’s successful missile launch has sent out a strong signal to nuclear superpowers.

“China has to now deal with India as a major player in missile technology,” it read. “And it’s not just China but also the rest of the world which has to come to terms with India’s new-found status. The sooner they get used to the reality, the better it would be for all,” the editorial concluded.

“Agni-V opens up options for India,” read an Asian Age editorial. While the piece commended India’s nuclear achievement, it called for  “strategic restraint” amid the growing “arms race in the region.”

“Ballyhooing about Agni-V should be the last thing on any Indian’s mind,” the piece warned. “This country is committed to the doctrine of ‘no first use’ for its nuclear weapons…. No one can miss seeing that Agni-V is not part of an offensive weapons system,” it noted.

In an editorial headlined “India being swept up by missile delusion,” China’s state-run Global Times slammed the launch as “arrogant.”

“India is still poor and lags behind in infrastructure construction, but its society is highly supportive of developing nuclear power,” the newspaper said. The piece further warned India against China’s “stronger and more reliable,” nuclear power.

“For the foreseeable future, India would stand no chance in an overall arms race with China,” it claimed, adding that the country would be “sorely mistaken” if it initiates hostility with its neighbor. “Objectively speaking, China does not spend much time guarding against India, while India focuses a lot of attention on China.”

Despite blistering attacks, the editorial ended on a mild note. “The peace and stability of the region are crucial to both countries…. China hopes India will remain calm, as this would be beneficial to both giants.”

A commentary in China’s state-run People’s Daily warned that diplomatic ties between the two countries can be “easily disrupted” given that the neighboring nations have long “remained suspicious of each other.” The piece further went on to say that Agni-V will continue to serve as a “constant reminder” that Chinese President Hu Jinatao’s recent visit to New Delhi had failed to work its “charm.”

India “should cooperate with neighbouring countries instead of being hostile to them and should reduce its ‘persecution mania’ to play a role on the world stage in the future,” the editorial added.

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