India warned of arms race over missile test
Bureau Report

Karachi—Pakistan on Wednesday said India’s test launch of a nuclear-capable undersea ballistic missile could trigger a fresh arms race in the region. A day after India tested the new missile from waters off its Vishakahpatnam coast, Pakistan Navy chief Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir described the development as a “very serious issue” as it was aimed at deploying nuclear weapons at sea.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function at the shipyard here, Tahir said: “Well my reaction is that this is going to start a new arms race in the region. We are aware of these developments (which) are taking place with a view to putting nuclear weapons at sea and this is a very serious issue.” He said the testing of the new missile would have an impact on the entire region.
The Pakistan Navy is tracking India’s missile development programme and will take steps to counter the impact of the testing of the undersea missile, he said. The Indian undersea missile, codenamed K-15, has a range of 700 km and was fired from a pontoon immersed in the sea as India did not have a submarine for such an exercise.
India’s successful test-firing of a nuclear-capable, submarine-launched missile will trigger a new arms race in the region, Pakistan’s navy chief said on Wednesday.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan and India have fought three wars since their partition and independence in 1947, and nearly went to war a fourth time in 2002, but relations have improved since they launched a peace process in 2004.
India, already capable of launches from land and air, tested the new missile on Tuesday from a surfaced submarine — a step closer to firing from under the sea and matching countries such as the United States, Russia, France and China.
“These developments...put nuclear weapons at sea and it is a very, very serious issue,” navy chief Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir told reporters in Karachi. “This is going to start a new arms race in the region,” he was quoted as saying by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan. Indian officials say the K-15, a two-stage missile with a top range of 700 km (450 miles), will be eventually deployed with a domestically built nuclear submarine, after further tests.