By Robert Birsel
Thu Aug 11, 5:37 PM ET
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan successfully tested its first nuclear-capable, ground-launched cruise missile on Thursday without informing rival India in advance, a Pakistani military spokesman said.
Nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India reached an agreement last week to inform each other about missile tests but the spokesman, Major-General Shaukut Sultan, said India was not told about the test because the new Babur missile is not a ballistic missile.
"We don't have to inform neighboring countries in this case. It is not a ballistic missile and it doesn't fall under the agreement," he said.
The Babur, which has a range of 500 km (310 miles), is a terrain-hugging missile that can avoid radar detection and strike with pinpoint accuracy, the military said.
"By conducting the successful test, Pakistan has joined a select group of countries which have the capability to design and develop cruise missiles," the military said in a statement.
Pakistan and India tested nuclear weapons in 1998.
President Pervez Musharraf hailed the test as a milestone in Pakistan's quest to strengthen and consolidate its strategic capability and said it improved the military balance with India.
The United States said it was not concerned about the test. A State Department spokesman said it was not a surprise, but did not elaborate.
"It's important to us that actions by states on the subcontinent are done in ways that aren't provocative, in ways that aren't threatening. I think that by all accounts the test met that criteria," State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters.
'VERY SIGNIFICANT'
Pakistan's desire to develop cruise missile capabilities has been known for several years, said Robert Karniol, Asia-Pacific editor for Jane's Defense Weekly.
While the Babur's payload capacity -- and the weight of Pakistan's nuclear weapons -- were not known, cruise missiles would be a significant boost to Pakistan's arsenal, he said.
"These kinds of capabilities, particularly the submarine-launched missile, are very significant strike weapons," he said.
"We can expect that some time in the future they will turn their attention to developing a submarine-launched system."
Pakistan has eight operating submarines, including two Agosta 90-Bs built with French help, a navy spokesman said.
India already has submarine-launched cruise missiles.
Musharraf said the Babur, with its 500-km (310-mile) range, was superior to the Indian Brahmos cruise missile, which has a range of 290 km (180 miles).
Pakistan would maintain a military balance with India even if India acquired high-technology U.S. weapons such as the Patriot missile system, he said.
"There was talk of India getting Patriot missiles and there was a feeling that there was an imbalance which is being created because of the purchase of very advanced technology weapons," he told reporters.
"Let me say this improves the balance. Whatever balance existed, it further improves the balance. So that is the significance of the Babur missile that we fired," he said.
(MTCR sucks)