India's Modi says committed to no first use of nuclear weapons

[Levina]

NFU makes perfect sense against non nuclear states - but needs revision against nuclear ones.

Well India has very good reasons to refrain from revisiting no first-use...and fewer reasons to revisit it. First... the move would be perceived as provocative and lead to friends and foes alike questioning India's intentions. For Pakistan a revision of NFU would spook its strategic planners and lead to it doubling down on its nuclear capabilities. And as we already know Pak has the fastestgrowing nuclear arsenal.
Furthermore the move could have important effects on India’s delicate international status as a nuclear power. India is in the unique position of remaining outside of the scope of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a non-signatory but still being allowed to engage in civilian nuclear commerce ..all thanks to a 2008 waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (a development that was in part facilitated by the 2006 civil nuclear cooperation deal with the United States). India was able to demonstrate its low risk by pointing to features of its nuclear policy and doctrine like NFU. Therefore any steps backward on that front would be damaging to India’s image as a nuclear power on the world stage.
Infact it is interesting to note that BJP made a very ambiguous statemnt on NFU which btw was opted by their own NDA govt. So I guess this was just to generate curiosity and make ppl speculate about it.

 

[illusion8]

Well India has very good reasons to refrain from revisiting no first-use...and fewer reasons to revisit it. First... the move would be perceived as provocative and lead to friends and foes alike questioning India's intentions. For Pakistan a revision of NFU would spook its strategic planners and lead to it doubling down on its nuclear capabilities. And as we already know Pak has the fastestgrowing nuclear arsenal.
Furthermore the move could have important effects on India’s delicate international status as a nuclear power. India is in the unique position of remaining outside of the scope of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a non-signatory but still being allowed to engage in civilian nuclear commerce ..all thanks to a 2008 waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (a development that was in part facilitated by the 2006 civil nuclear cooperation deal with the United States). India was able to demonstrate its low risk by pointing to features of its nuclear policy and doctrine like NFU. Therefore any steps backward on that front would be damaging to India’s image as a nuclear power on the world stage.
Infact it is interesting to note that BJP made a very ambiguous statemnt on NFU which btw was opted by their own NDA govt. So I guess this was just to generate curiosity and make ppl speculate about it.

Almost similar to what I posted on this thread Revisiting India’s nuclear doctrine

The current ambiguity or non discussion on India's nukes should be maintained. India has always kept it's nuke program under wraps for a purpose. I dont see a point in bringing nukes to the fore again.

What purpose would it serve? - other than needlessly raising a number of eyeballs.

We have the nukes - we have the delivery systems - no one questions us about our nukes or about our intentions - no one questions us about our endeavour in increasing our nuke delivery capability. We get to buy uranium from anywhere around the world. We have no restrictions on the number of nuclear facilities or nuclear plants we put up.

So why upset the apple cart at all?

Policies are not watertight or bound by any strict code, during war a number of policies get changed. Our NFU is more pointed towards non nuclear countries. We do have a NFU in place but that does not mean that if we find a threat of being under nuclear attack we wouldn't launch first.

My point is why emphasise on a change in policy now when it does not bring any benefits...of course it's my personal opinion.

 

[Levina]

My point is why emphasise on a change in policy now when it does not bring any benefits...of course it's my personal opinion.

Well BJP's ambiguous line on NFU had confused me too.
But did u knw even thoughIndia,China and Pakistan posses nuclear weapons they're not called nuclear states?? Interesting isnt it??
@OrionHunter could u pls post that link which you had posted on the other thread about India's NFU policy.
So if we read NFU literally then it would mean that India can not be the first to use nuclear weapons on Pak and China.Ergo we do need to make some changes in our NFU.

 

[Pakistanisage]

This guy changes his mind faster than people change their underwear.

 

[nair]

This guy changes his mind faster than people change their underwear.

Now where did this come from?

 

[Levina]

@illusion8

I read this news yesterday on an FB pg.Though the news is old I am posting it only half of it here.Pls go through the link for complete info.
***************************

China has secretly built a major
underground nuclear submarine base
that could threaten Asian countries
and challenge American power in the
region, it can be disclosed.
The images were obtained by Janes
Intelligence Review after the
periodical was given access to
imagery from the commercial satellite
company DigitalGlobe.
The main problem with this article is
that the underground submarine
base has been visible on Google
Earth since at least August 2006,
when it was mentioned on Ogle
Earth. The article misrepresents what
is new information. Jane’s Defense
Weekly has indeed commissioned a
new image of the base from Digital
Globe, much like we all could if we
have a few thousand USDs to spare,
and not surprisingly the imagery
shows the submarine base being
used by, wait for it,
submarines.
Chinese nuclear submarine base - Telegraph
‪

 

[OrionHunter]

Well BJP's ambiguous line on NFU had confused me too.
But did u knw even thoughIndia,China and Pakistan posses nuclear weapons they're not called nuclear states?? Interesting isnt it??
@OrionHunter could u pls post that link which you had posted on the other thread about India's NFU policy.
So if we read NFU literally then it would mean that India can not be the first to use nuclear weapons on Pak and China.Ergo we do need to make some changes in our NFU.

Here's a pdf doc you may like to read....
RETHINKING INDIA'S NUCLEAR DOCTRINE

Though the BJP manifesto does mention that the nuclear doctrine would be revisited, Modi has said recently that
there will be no change to the 'no first use' nuclear weapons policy.

Opposition leader Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that he would stick to India's doctrine of not being the first to use nuclear weapons in a conflict if he wins power in the country's election.

"It is necessary to be powerful - not to suppress anyone, but for our own protection," Modi said in an interview with the ANI television service.

Read more: India's Modi: No change to 'no first use' nuclear weapons doctrine - Business Insider