By Sujatha Fernandes For some time the West, in particular the US government, has been warning about the arms build-up in south Asia. While the nuclear arms race between India and Pakistan is cause for concern, especially given the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Pakistan and Hindu fundamentalism in India, the US government has much to answer for in helping to fuel it. Pakistan's secret military program was launched in 1971, after its defeat by India in the Bangladesh liberation war. The program was accelerated after India tested a nuclear bomb in 1974. In February 1988, India successfully tested the Prithvi, a 240-kilometre-range ballistic missile that contains more than enough fuel for a nuclear warhead. This spurred Pakistan on, and in February 1989, it announced that it had test fired missiles with 80 and 300 kilometre ranges. Since then India has developed the Agni, a 2500 kilometre "intermediate"-range ballistic missile, and an ideal delivery vehicle for its nuclear warheads. Pakistan is also reported to have M-11 missiles. While the US has been pushing India to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it refused to even attend the April conference which extended the treaty. India has also refused to agree on the cessation of fissile material which would subject it to full International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections.
NPT
India has always considered the NPT — which allows the five UN Security Council countries to have nuclear weapons — to be discriminatory. While the NPT was initially designed to prevent the remilitarisation of Japan and the former West Germany, it has now become the main tool by which the West controls the flow of nuclear science and technology to the Third World. The nuclear powers want India and Pakistan to sign the NPT as they are "threshold states": they are capable of arming themselves with nuclear weapons, if they have not already done so. The US has been instrumental in the arms build-up in the Indian subcontinent. To counter the Indo-Soviet relationship, the US cultivated links with China, and after the 1979 Russian invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan became a strategic ally of the US. Pakistan also became a military and political launching pad for the US's rapid deployment forces into the Middle East. This, and the US government's strengthened military ties with China, were seen by the Indian government as a threat to its national security. Since the collapse of the Soviet bloc, the US has sought to tie in the south Asian countries both militarily and economically. This year the Indian government agreed to formalise a strategic military cooperation pact with the US along similar lines as the Pakistani government. While visiting India earlier this year, the US Pacific fleet commander-in-chief stated that the US navy was interested in making Cochin and Goa permanent ports of call, and using the Mazagaon dock facilities for its ship repairs. It is US policy not to declare whether or not US naval ships are carrying nuclear weapons. In 1990, the US Congress passed the Pressler amendment, which forced Washington to cut off all aid to Pakistan because of its nuclear program. However, this was overturned by the Clinton administration in September, clearing the way for the US to send US$370 million worth of weapons to Pakistan. The US government's links with Pakistan and India ensures that not only will they remain strategic allies, but that their military forces are kept in check. The US also encourages the arms race in south Asia by fuelling the contentious issues between the Pakistan and India. Since Indian independence in 1945, India and Pakistan have fought for control over Kashmir while trying to quash the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination. The US has fuelled the dispute by siding with Pakistan, while imposing economic and political pressure on India.