NEW DELHI – New Delhi successfully conducted an anti-satellite missiletest, sending “a stark message to India’s nuclear-armed rivals China andPakistan”, the Times of India (TOI) reports.
According to the newspaper, the test “changes Asia’s strategic calculusby proving India has the ability to knock out enemy satellites”.
TOI also cited retired Indian Air Force (IAF) captain Ajey Lele as sayingthat by launching an anti-satellite missile, India sends a message to allof its adversaries that it is a “strong and capable military power” andthat “if somebody wants to do something to our satellites, we have thecapability to do this to your satellites”.
John Blaxland, head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centreat Australian National University was quoted by TOI as claiming thatIndia’s anti-satellite test indicates that the country’s neighbours “willhave to think twice before upping the ante in any future space clash,particularly once this capability matures”.
On Wednesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a nationaladdress that India had achieved a “historic feat” by shooting down its ownlow-orbit satellite with a ground-to-space missile in a three-minute testlaunch.
He stressed that the test suggests that India is emerging as the fourthnation to possess such satellite destroying capabilities, joining Russia,the United States, and China.
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The test comes against the background of simmering tensions between NewDelhi and Islamabad, which escalated late last month when the twocountries’ warplanes engaged in a dogfight which was preceded by an IAFairstrike on an alleged terrorist camp in the Pakistan-controlled regionof Kashmir.
The raid took place in response to a 14 February terrorist attack on anIndian military convoy which left at least 40 security personnel dead.
Separately, India-China ties, which have been tarnished by a spateof simmering border disputes, have deteriorated further as the twocountries try to increase their regional clout.
Beijing’s ever-growing military and economic ties with Islamabad haveprompted New Delhi to improve its relations with Washington. – Sputnik
