India: No-Nuclear-Weapons Policy to Change
India's defense minister said New Delhi has always maintained its commitment to "no first use of nuclear weapons" but that the policy would change based on the situation.
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| India's Agni II missile |
The warning was issued by Minister Rajnath Singh amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.
India declared itself to have nuclear weapons capabilities after it conducted underground tests in 1998. Soon after, India’s longtime rival Pakistan responded with similar tests. Since then, according to nuclear experts, both countries have developed nuclear weapons and missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
According to Reuters, during a visit to Pokhran, western India - the site of nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh paid tribute to the late Prime Minister and revered leader Atal Behari Vajpayee for making India a nuclear-powered nation.
“Pokhran is where the late Prime Minister Atal Vajpayee’s determination to make India a nuclear power was witnessed and New Delhi remains committed to its No First Use of Nuclear Weapons pledge. However, what happens in the future depends on the situation.”
Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), said that Mr. Singh's warning is a sign that the "no first use" policy of nuclear weapons may change in the future. This is the highest-level official statement from the Indian Ministry of Defense to date.
