Responding to US President Barack Obama’s remarks at the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) that India and Pakistan should ensure they are not moving in wrong direction while they develop military doctrines, the Indian Government on Monday said there is a misconception with regard to India’s defence posture. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India has conventionally never initiated military action against any of its neighbour and it strongly believes in no-first use nuclear weapons policy.
Obama last Friday at the NSS urged India and Pakistan to contain aggressive military doctrines and nuclear arsenals. “Yes, we have seen those remarks. There seems to be a lack of understanding of India’s defence posture. Conventionally, India has never initiated military action against any neighbour. We also have a no-first use nuclear weapons policy. Since the context was the NSS, the President’s own remark that ‘expanding nuclear arsenals in some countries, with more small tactical nuclear weapons which could be at greater risk of theft’ sums up the focus of global concern,” said Vikas Swarup, official spokesperson for MEA.
At a Press conference towards the end of the summit, Obama said: “One of the challenges that we are going to have here is that it is very difficult to see huge reductions in our nuclear arsenal unless the US and Russia, as the two largest possessors of nuclear weapons, are prepared to lead the way. The other area where I think we need to see progress is Pakistan and India, that subcontinent, making sure that as they develop military doctrines, that they are not continually moving in the wrong direction.” He also expressed concern about “nuclear arsenals” expanding in some countries, “especially those with small tactical nuclear weapons that could be at greater risk of theft.”