India has successfully test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile which, when operational, is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to every part of China.
The launch of the Agni-5 missile happened in India’s eastern Odisha state, with authorities confirming that it “validated all operational and technical parameters.”
China and India, the world’s 2 most populous countries, are currently vying for influence across South Asia, and their relationship took a hit 5 years ago after a border dispute.
India is also a member of the Quad security alliance with the U.S, Australia and Japan, which is seen as an anti-China stance.
India’s popular rival Pakistan owns nuclear weapons too, and the 2 nations almost started a war in May when militants killed 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir, an attack New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. However, Pakistan immediately denied any involvement in the attack.
Amid the global trade and geopolitical storm as a result of Trump’s tariff war, India and China have tried to settle their differences.
In 2024, October to be precise, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time in five years at a summit in Russia.
Narendra is set to visit China for the fist time since 2018 to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)—a regional security bloc.
Meanwhile, the relationship between Washington and New Delhi has been strained after Trump’s ultimatum that India stop its purchases of Russian oil, a vital source of income for Russia amid its ongoing war in Ukraine.
The United States threatened to double fresh import tariffs on India from 25 per cent to 50 per cent by August 27 if New Delhi doesn’t find a new crude supplier.
The Agni-5 is one of several indigenously produced short- and medium-range Indian ballistic missiles aimed at improving its defence against Pakistan and China.
