Global Research:
India’s successful test launch of the Agni 5 ICBM reignited the Asian missile race by disrupting the strategic balance with China & Pakistan and sparking a more pronounced security dilemma than before. Up until last week, it was doubtful that India could ever target China’s eastern seaboard cities in the event of a military confrontation, thus limiting any potential clash between the two to whichever border region or perhaps even maritime space that it breaks out in, but that state of affairs was just smashed after New Delhi proved that it could potentially strike deep into the People’s Republic if the order was given.
On the one hand, this promotes the concept of “mutually assured destruction” by somewhat equalizing the missile capabilities of these two Asian Great Powers and theoretically making war between them less likely, but on the other hand, that very same logic could be abused by India in a bid to keep China at bay if it ever engages in another conventional war with Pakistan. The surge of confidence that the successful Agni 5 launch has imbued India’s decision makers is causing fear throughout the region, especially since New Delhi made a highly publicized show of standing up to Beijing last summer over the Donglang/Doklam Plateau.
