DATE=8/17/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=INDIA NUCLEAR L-ONLY
NUMBER=2-252866
BYLINE=JIM TEEPLE
DATELINE=NEW DELHI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: India says it will only use nuclear weapons in
retaliation after a first strike. Correspondent Jim
Teeple reports India announced (Tuesday) a draft
doctrine spelling out nuclear policy.
Text: The draft policy was released by India's
National Security Advisory Board and can only be
adopted after a new government is formed following
national elections in September and October.
According to the draft India will only use nuclear
weapons in retaliation after a nuclear first strike.
The draft states, India will not be the first to use
nuclear weapons and will not use nuclear weapons
against a state that does not have them or is not
aligned with a nuclear-weapons power.
The draft states India will only respond with punitive
retaliation should deterrence fail. The draft says in
this policy of retaliation-only, the survivability of
India's arsenal is critical.
According to the draft, nuclear weapons will be air,
sea, and land-based and will be tightly controlled and
released only at the authorization of the Prime
Minister or a designated successor.
While it spells out the conditions under which nuclear
weapons could be used, the draft does not outline how
many nuclear weapons India will stockpile, how they
will be deployed, or their size and strength. The
draft says those issues will be decided in light of
India's strategic needs.
The draft also does not say whether India will sign
the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, as the
United States and other nuclear powers have urged. On
Monday, India's Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee
says any decision on the treaty will have to wait
until after the election and then the treaty will only
be signed if there is a national consensus to do so.
Both India and Pakistan conducted nuclear tests in
1998, and earlier this year both countries tested mid-
range ballistic missiles believed to be capable of
carrying nuclear weapons.
Tensions between the two South-Asian neighbors rose
dramatically after 11-weeks of fighting on the Indian
side of the Kashmir border. India blames Pakistan for
sending paramilitary troops and Islamic guerrillas
into its territory -- something Pakistan denies. Last
week both countries were involved in air clashes,
which raised tensions further. (SIGNED)
NEB/JLT/RAE
17-Aug-1999 11:22 AM LOC (17-Aug-1999 1522 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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