India enters elite ICBM league with Agni-V

Agni-V launch: China shows signs of admiration and nervousness The Chinese foreign ministry suggested Thursday that India's Agni-V launch should not be viewed as an arms race in the way of better relationship between the Himalayan neighbours. "We are not rivals but cooperative partners. We should cherish the hard-earned momentum of cooperation," Liu Weimin, spokesman of the Chinese foreign ministry said. The ministry's remarks came as close to expressing admiration for the test-firing of Agni-V as could be expected of a country which comes within the range of the nuclear capable missile. "China and India are both emerging powers," Liu said. He referred to the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese president Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the recent BRICS meeting in New Delhi saying the "leadership of the two countries agreed to further strengthen cooperation". The foreign ministry's public views were in sharp contrast to a belligerent commentary published by the Global Times, one of the papers on the stable of the People's Daily, which is owned by the Communist Party of China. The Global Times commentary advised India not to be arrogant about its missile capabilities. The commentary betrayed signs of nervousness among hawkish sections of the Communist Party of China over India's missile success. But the more moderate People's Daily and a web newspaper published by the State Council under premier Wen Jiabao did not voice an opinion about the Agni V event. "Even if it (India) has missiles that could reach most parts of China, that does not mean it will gain anything from being arrogant during disputes with China," Global Times said. "India should be clear that China's nuclear power is stronger and more reliable. For the foreseeable future, India would stand no chance in an overall arms race with China". It also warned India against relying too heavily on its relationship with the United States and the alleged western effort to curb China's growth. The paper carried a graph showing how India's missile capabilities cover several world cities like Moscow, Tehran, Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta and Beijing. "India should also not overstate the value of its Western allies and the profits it could gain from participating in a containment of China. If it equates long range strategic missiles with deterrence of China, and stirs up further hostility, it could be sorely mistaken," the commentary said. Speaking at the foreign ministry, Liu said the need of the need of the hour was to "push forward the bilateral strategic and cooperative partnership". Liu also did not accept a suggestion that the missile launch might affect regional stability. "We hope Asian countries can contribute to regional stability and peace," he said.