Nuclearisation of Indian Ocean pushing Pakistan India to destructive war: International Report
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ISLAMABAD: The acquirement of nuclear-armed submarines by Pakistan and India has increased the chances of a destructive war between the two countries, reported*Vox.* <link>
Islamabad has publicly stated that the decision to arm Pakistan Navy with nuclear submarines is a direct response to New Delhi, which announced the deployment of its first nuclear submarine, in August 2016, according to the American news website.
In theory, the presence of nuclear missiles on submarines had made any war between the two adversaries potentially unwinnable, and ultimately, futile, the US-based news website underlined.
As Pakistan and India have now achieved completion of the nuclear triad, both have the capability to strike each other by land, air and sea. In the event of a nuclear war, the submarine is traditionally considered the ‘safest’ bet, as it can survive a first strike by the enemy, and retaliate effectively.
Pakistan and India are arch enemies and bilateral relations between the two countries have been uneasy at best ever since becoming independent in 1947. More recently, they have also been locked in a nuclear arms race.
*Vox *notes that as the race spirals over into the Indian Ocean, the number of atomic weapons on the sub-continent is increasing, the chain of command and control over these weapons is at risk of being loosened, and they are now being placed in an environment where things can go horribly wrong.
“The nuclearisation of the Indian Ocean has begun,” Zafar Jaspal, a nuclear security expert at Islamabad’s Quaid-e-Azam University, told *Vox*. “Both states have now crossed the threshold,” he added.
The report has compared the situation in South Asia to the nuclear standoff on the Korean peninsula, although it admits that Islamabad and New Delhi have managed to avoid international scrutiny over their nuclear programmes. It has also warned of a nuclear conflict arising from a surprise attack, as inexperienced officers control atomic weapons in contested waters.
