Nuclear weapons not for war: Indian Army chief
January 15th, 2012 - 3:18 pm ICT by IANS ( Leave a comment )New Delhi, Jan 15 (IANS) Amid reports of Pakistan and China augmenting their nuclear arsenals, Indian Army chief Gen. V.K. Singh Sunday rejected the threat of a nuclear war, saying such weapons primarily have a “strategic significance”.
“Nuclear weapons are not for war fighting. Let’s be quite clear on it,” Singh said on the sidelines of the Army Day parade when asked about the nuclear postures and arsenals of Pakistan and China.
“They’ve got a strategic significance and that’s where it should end. Me and my army are not bothered about who has nuclear weapons. We have our task cut out and we will progress along that,” Singh said.
India maintains a credible minimum deterrence and its nuclear doctrine consists of, among other things, no first use as a matter of policy.
Singh’s comments came a day before India hosts the meeting of officials of the Nuclear Security Summit that will focus on issues relating to nuclear terrorism and the safety of atomic materials and facilities.
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Tags: army chief, china, India, indian army, minimum deterrence, New Delhi, nuclear arsenals, nuclear doctrine, nuclear postures, nuclear security, nuclear terrorism, nuclear war, pakistan, security summit, sidelines, who has nuclear weapons
