India announces successful test launch of nuclear-capable missile

(19 Apr 2012) FILE: New Delhi - 26 January 2012 1. Wide of India''s Agni long-range missile being displayed during annual Republic Day parade New Delhi - 19 April 2012 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rahul Bedi, Defence Analyst: "It will have adverse impact on relation with China, because China when the launch was first announced last year towards the end of 2011, China had reacted adversely and said that India was raising the temperature in the region, it was leading to some kind of a arms race in the region and it would also contribute to tension in the region. So I think the Chinese will react adversely." FILE: New Delhi - 26 January 2012 3. Close of prototype of India''s Agni missile New Delhi - 19 April 2012 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rahul Bedi, Defence Analyst: "I think European reaction as well as Western reaction is going to be a little muted because I think the whole world is a little concerned about China. And the whole world is looking for dissuasive deterrences against China. And that is exactly what the Agni 5 is, it''s planned to be a dissuasive deterrence against any kind of Chinese adventurism as far as India is concerned." FILE: New Delhi - 26 January 2012 5. Wide of spectators at India''s annual Republic Day parade STORYLINE India announced Thursday that it had successfully test launched a new nuclear-capable missile that would give it, for the first time, the capability of striking the major Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai. The government has hailed the Agni-V missile, with a range of 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles), as a major boost to its efforts to counter China''s regional dominance and become an Asian power in its own right. The head of India''s Defence Research and Development Organisation, Vijay Saraswat, said the missile was launched at 8:07 a.m. (03.37 GMT) from Wheeler Island off India''s east coast. It rose to an altitude of more than 600 kilometres (370 miles), its three stages worked properly and its payload was deployed as planned, he told Times Now news channel. The Agni-V is a solid-fuel, three-stage missile designed to carry a 1.5-tonne nuclear warhead. It stands 17.5 metres (57 feet) tall, has a launch weight of 50 tonnes and was built at a reported cost of 25 (b) billion rupees (486 (m) million US dollars). It can be moved across the country by road or rail and can be used to carry multiple warheads or to launch satellites into orbit. The missile will need four or five more trials before it can be inducted into India''s arsenal at some point in 2014 or 2015, Indian officials said. China is far ahead of India in the missile race, with intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching anywhere in India. Currently, the longest-range Indian missile, the Agni-III, has a range of only 3,500 kilometres (2,100 miles) and falls short of many major Chinese cities. India hailed Thursday''s test as a major step in its fight to be seen as a world power. However a defence analyst in New Delhi cautioned that the development would have an adverse effect on India''s relationship with China. "When the launch was first announced last year towards the end of 2011, China had reacted adversely and said that India was raising the temperature in the region, it was leading to some kind of a arms race in the region and it would also contribute to tension in the region. So I think the Chinese will react adversely," said Rahul Bedi. India and China fought a war in 1962 and continue to nurse a border dispute. India has also been suspicious of Beijing''s efforts to increase its influence in the Indian Ocean in recent years. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...