INDIA’S NUCLEAR COMMAND SEEKS AIR FORCE
India’s Strategic Forces Command (SFC) is looking to acquire its own air force. The Command, which was created in 2003 as part of the Nuclear Command Authority, manages and administers India’s tactical and strategic nuclear weapons and produces contingency plans. It currently relies on the Indian Air Force to deliver nuclear weapons. But the SFC is looking to acquire up to 40 nuclear-capable fighter planes of its own. Currently, India has Mirage 2000, Su-30 MKI, and Jaguar fighter jets capable of delivering nuclear weapons. It’s land-based deterrent consists of 150-mi-range Prithvi and 1,000-mi-range Agni missiles. The country is currently building the Arihant-class nuclear submarine to complete the nuclear triad (India Defence September 11, 2010)
CHINESE PROJECTS IN BANDLADESH WORRY INDIA
India is closely watching efforts by China to establish a foothold in neighboring Bangladesh. Beijing has long had interest in Bangladesh’s port city of Chittagong on the Indian Ocean and is moving to establish a direct rail-road link from Chittagong to China’s Yunnan province, via Myanmar. The Burmese junta, a close ally of China, has already agreed to the tri-lateral project and China is lobbying hard to Dhaka to secure Bangladesh’s consent. China has become involved in a series of port projects along the Indian Ocean that commentators have dubbed a “string of pearls.” The strategy is designed to reduce China’s dependence on the volatile Strait of Malacca for trade, but has encroached on India’s strategic space. A senior official told the Times of India “China already has transit facilities through the Chittagong port, apart from commercial interests. A strong Chinese presence in Chittagong is bound to have security implications for India. It is, after all, our strategic backyard.” (Times of India September 18, 2010)
CHINA NUKE COMPANY ANNOUNCES NEW PLANT IN PAKISTAN
China’s state-run China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) has announced that it is in talks with Pakistan to build a one-gigawatt nuclear power plant there. Beijing revealed controversial plans earlier this year to build two new nuclear power plants at Pakistan’s Chashma site, where CNNC has already built one nuclear reactor and is almost finished constructing a second, which is now undergoing tests and should be completed by the end of the year. The U.S. and India have objected to China building any new power plants in Pakistan as the country is not a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and has perhaps the worst nuclear proliferation history on record. Technically, China must obtain unanimous approval from the 46-member international nuclear regulatory body, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, before it can transfer any nuclear technology to Pakistan. The U.S. State Department indicated in July that the U.S. would vote against an exemption for China and Pakistan, but its unclear whether or not China will move forward with the project anyway. (Wall Street Journal September 20, 2010)
HISTORIC AYODHYA VERDICT ARRIVES IN INDIA
India’s Allahabad High Court just handed down perhaps the most anticipated court decision in Indian history – one that risked provoking widespread religious violence in the world’s largest democracy. The legal dispute in question was first raised in 1885, 125 years ago, regarding the question over who owned a religious site in Ayodhya, a small town in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh. Hindu groups claim the site is the birthplace of their Lord Rama, and that the Muslim Mughal Emporer Babur razed a Hindu Temple there in the 16th century to make way for the Babri Masjid (mosque). In 1990, a Hindu group submitted evidence to a judicial committee suggesting the mosque was wrongly built on their holy site. The committee ignored the suggestion and on December 6, 1992 a 200,000-strong mob of Hindu nationalists tore down the mosque and attacked Muslim houses and property in the area. Over 2,000 were killed in resulting riots, most of them Muslims.
The country was on edge in the lead up to the verdict, fearing the return of widespread violence in the event of a divisive judgment. In the end, the court ruled 2-1 on September 30 to divide the land three ways, between Hindu’s, Muslims, and Nirmohi Akhara (a localized Hindu sect). Each was given a one-third share to the title. The ruling also established that the site is indeed the birthplace of Lord Rama, and that Hindus will be able to construct a Temple to Rama there. Groups were ordered to maintain the status quo for three months while they worked out the details on how to allocate the land. Early reactions in India were peaceful, with most Hindu nationalist groups praising the judgment. (London Guardian and BBC September 30, 2010)
PAKISTAN CUTS OFF NATO SUPPLIES AFTER CROSS-BORDER ATTACK
Pakistan and NATO have become embroiled in a dispute after NATO forces entered Pakistani airspace to target militants trying to attack a coalition base in Afghanistan’s Paktia province. Islamabad claims the helicopters attacked a military checkpoint in Pakistan’s tribal region and killed three Pakistani soldiers and wounded three others after the soldiers fired warning shots at the helicopters. The incident was the fourth reported cross-border raid in just a few days. With Islamabad’s quiet consent, the U.S. regularly targets militants in Pakistan’s tribal regions with CIA-operated unmanned aerial drones, but cross-border military raids are a rarity. Pakistani officials have vehemently opposed such operations in the past and in apparent retaliation, Pakistan has blocked a vital NATO supply route. Around three-quarters of NATO’s supplies pass through Pakistan on their way to Afghanistan. Hours after the cross-border attack, NATO supply trucks and fuel tankers were held up at the Torkham border Post in Pakistan’s Khyber tribal region. (Voice of America September 30, 2010)
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