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Time of India
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
For India, China is main rival & Pakistan an ancillary security issue: US intel
NEW DELHI: Pakistan considers India an "existential threat" and will continue to pursue efforts to modernise its military and develop its battlefield or tactical nuclear weapons to offset New Delhi's conventional military advantage, the US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) has said. In its 'World Threat Assessment' report, which notes India's Operation Sindoor to strike terror hubs in Pakistan and the subsequent escalation in hostilities, the DIA says PM Modi's defence priorities will "probably focus" on demonstrating global leadership, countering China, and enhancing India's military power. "India views China as primary adversary and Pakistan more as an ancillary security problem to be managed, despite cross-border attacks in mid-May by both militaries," the report said. China has played a big role in facilitating a proliferation nexus to help Pakistan and North Korea to steadily boost their nuclear and ballistic missile arsenals over the years. Global estimates say India and Pakistan have around 170 N-warheads each, with Islamabad also frequently brandishing its short-range Nasr (Hatf-IX) and other missiles as a counter to New Delhi's conventional military superiority, as earlier reported by TOI. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 40대 이상이고 PC가 있으세요? 그럼 이 게임을 정말 좋아하실 거예요! Sea of Conquest 플레이하기 Undo The report says China's nuclear stockpile has probably crossed 600 operational warheads. "We estimate China will have over 1,000 operational warheads by 2030, much of which will be deployed at higher readiness levels for faster response times," it said. 'Pak primarily a recipient of China's military largesse' Pakistan is modernising its nuclear arsenal and maintaining the security of its nuclear material, and command and control structures. 'Pakistan almost certainly procures WMD (weapons of mass destruction)-applicable goods from foreign suppliers and intermediaries,' the report says. Early on May 10, India had struck nine airbases in Pakistan in what constituted some clear strategic messaging before the understanding on ceasing hostilities came into effect in the evening. In particular, the deep precision hits on the Nur Khan and Sargodha airbases rattled Pakistan. Nur Khan in Rawalpindi is located close to the headquarters of Pakistan's Strategic Plans Division that handles the country's nuclear arsenal, as was then reported by TOI. The DIA report says Pakistan 'primarily is a recipient' of Beijing's 'economic and military largesse', and its forces conduct multiple military exercises with Chinese forces every year. ' Foreign material and technology supporting Pakistan's WMD programmes are very likely acquired primarily from suppliers in China, and sometimes are transhipped through Hong Kong, Singapore, Turkiye, and the UAE,' it says. The report says India is giving priority to advancing its bilateral, trilateral and quadrilateral defence partnerships in the Indian Ocean Region and Indo-Pacific through exercises, training, arms sales and information sharing to counter China's influence and boost its global leadership role. India will almost certainly continue promoting its 'Made in India' initiative this year to build its domestic defence industry, mitigate supply chain concerns, and modernise its military, it says. In 2024, India conducted a test of its nuclear-capable Agni-I Prime medium-range ballistic missile and the Agni-V multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (multiple warheads on a single missile). 'India also commissioned its second nuclear-powered submarine (INS Arighaat) to strengthen its nuclear triad and bolster its ability to deter adversaries,' it says. Referring to troop disengagement in Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh in Oct last year, the report says it 'did not resolve the long-standing dispute about border demarcation but reduced some tension still lingering' since the Galwan clash in 2020.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Pak a rogue nation with nukes, must be under IAEA scanner: Rajnath Singh
NEW DELHI: Calling Pakistan a rogue nation with nukes, defence minister said Thursday its nuclear arsenal should be placed under the watch of International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ), and stressed that Islamabad's nuclear blackmail failed to deter India's response to terrorism under . Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 'PM Modi has redefined India's policy against terrorism which now says that any attack on Indian soil will be considered as an act of war,' said Singh, addressing troops at Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar on his first visit to J&K since Op Sindoor was launched May 7. Singh's comments come soon after the PM drew a new red line, stressing that Pakistan's nuclear blackmail will no longer work and India would continue to give cross-border kinetic responses to terror attacks. Pak's been deceiving India for long: Rajnath India has a clearly stated 'no first-use' nuclear weapons policy but Pakistan has deliberately left it ambiguous and often indulges in nuclear sabre-rattling. It brandishes, for instance, its short-range Nasr (Hatf-IX) and other missiles as a counter to India's conventional military superiority. Pakistan, of course, has steadily built up its nuclear arsenal due to its well-documented proliferation nexus with China and North Korea. This nuclear option as a leverage against India came to the fore even last week when Islamabad first announced a meeting of its nuclear National Command Authority but then subsequently backed down amid global concern. At Srinagar, noting that the world has witnessed how irresponsibly Islamabad has issued nuclear threats to New Delhi several times, Singh said, 'I raise this question before the world: Are nuclear weapons safe in the hands of such an irresponsible and rogue nation? Pakistan's nuclear weapons should be taken under the supervision of the IAEA.' Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The defence minister called Operation Sindoor the 'biggest action' taken by India against terrorism in history, and a testament to the nation's commitment to go to any extent to eliminate the menace. 'Our forces have shown to the world that their aim is precise and pinpointed, and the task of counting (the body bags) is left to the enemies,' he said. Terrorists targeted tourists in Pahalgam based on their 'dharma' (religion), but the Indian forces killed terrorists based on their 'karma' (deeds) in the long-range strikes conducted in Pakistan and PoK on May 7, Rajnath said. 'It was the dream of every soldier that we will reach terrorist hideouts and destroy them. It was our dharma to eliminate the terrorists.' Addressing the troops, chief minister Omar Abdullah and Army chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Singh said India has always prioritised peace and never supported war but when its sovereignty is attacked, it is necessary to respond. 'If Pakistan continues to support terrorism, it will pay a heavier price,' he said. Recalling Pakistan's declaration about 21 years ago in front of then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee that terrorism will no longer be exported from its land, Singh said Pakistan has been 'deceiving India' for long. Pakistan must stop sheltering anti-India terrorist organisations and not allow its land to be used against India, he said. Pakistan has reached an abysmal state where it seeks loans from the IMF, while India falls in the category of those countries which provide funds to the IMF so that they can help poor countries, he added.
