Now, on Tuesday, India test-fired its indigenously developed long-range Agni-5 missile. In another highly successful launch India displayed its capability to deliver a nuclear warhead deep into Chinese mainland. The launch was conducted from the state of Odisha, confirming all the operational and technical parameters of the missile. This development comes just a week before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to China, underscoring India’s commitment to enhancing its defense capabilities.
The Agni-5 missile’s theoretical range of over 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) is indeed much larger. This new capability allows it to reach targets throughout much of Asia, including key areas in China. According to the SIPRI, India has a stockpile of 180 nuclear warheads. The country is now on the frontlines of global efforts to ensure a strategic counterbalance to its increasingly assertive and militarized neighbor. According to reports, China currently possesses around 600 nuclear warheads. In the past several years, the country has poured resources into military technology development to broaden its military arsenal.
India’s missile test highlights the ongoing arms race between the two nations, particularly as China’s People’s Liberation Army expands its military capabilities. The test comes at a time of continued high-level diplomatic engagement between India and China. Both countries are continuing efforts to reset their souring bilateral ties, which have soured owing to border incursions and military face-offs in recent years.
In a notable step towards improving bilateral relations, India and China have agreed to resume direct commercial flights that were suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic. China has just reopened two major pilgrimage sites in western Tibet. After five long years, for the first time Indian visitors can freely enter these ancestral and historic grounds. Both countries have recently begun re-issuing tourist visas to each other’s citizens, indicating a further thawing of what has been a decades-long period of tension.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent visit to New Delhi adds another layer to this evolving relationship, setting the stage for Prime Minister Modi’s upcoming discussions in China. Modi emphasized the importance of stable ties between the two countries, stating:
“Stable, predictable, constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional as well as global peace and prosperity.” – Modi
Moreover, India considers the deepening nexus between China and Pakistan a primary national security threat. In fact, China accounts for about 81% of the arms Pakistan imports. This tension complicates India’s security environment, providing additional impetus for India to develop a stronger defense industrial base.
