India has successfully test-fired an indigenously developed intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead deep into the territory of its geopolitical rival, China, just as Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares for his first visit there in years.
The Agni-5 was launched in India’s eastern Odisha state and “validated all operational and technical parameters,” the country’s defense ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The missile has a range of more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles), according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies Missile Defense Project. That puts India’s rivals like China and Pakistan well within range of the weapon.
India and China are locked in a fierce battle for influence across the Asia-Pacific. Both have navigated a frosty relationship after deadly clashes at their shared Himalayan border in 2020 pushed the two further apart than at any time in decades. Ties have shown signs of warming since Modi met Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia last October.
India and China have agreed to resume direct commercial flights cancelled in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, Beijing recently agreed to reopen two pilgrimage sites in western Tibet to Indians for the first time in five years, and both started re-issuing tourist visas for each other’s citizens. “Stable, predictable, constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional as well as global peace and prosperity,” Modi said in a statement Tuesday after his meeting with Wang. He also acknowledged his impending trip for the SCO summit in Tianjin.
India’s relationship with the US, meanwhile, has been strained after President Donald Trump threatened New Delhi with 50% tariffs as punishment for its purchases of Russian oil.
Source: Here
