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India test-fires nuclear-capable ballistic missile, with eye on China
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Images posted online that are said to show India's nuclear-capable Agni-5 missile being tested on Aug 20.
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Summary
- India test-fired its Agni-5 missile, capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads, in Odisha state on August 20th.
- The launch validated "all operational and technical parameters" amid rising US tariff threats.
- This test reflects India's push for defence self-reliance and strengthened Western defence cooperation, while tensions with China escalate.
Published Aug 21, 2025, 01:51 AM
Updated Aug 21, 2025, 08:54 PM
NEW DELHI - India said on Aug 20 that it had successfully test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile which, when operational, should be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to any part of China.
The Agni-5 missile was successfully launched in India’s eastern Odisha state, with the authorities saying it “validated all operational and technical parameters”.
India and China, the world’s two most populous nations, are intense rivals competing for influence across South Asia and relations plummeted in 2020 after a deadly border clash.
India is also part of
the Quad security alliance
with the United States, Australia and Japan, which is seen as a counter to China.
India’s bitter rival Pakistan also has nuclear weapons, and the two countries came close to war in May
after militants killed 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir, an attack New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. But Pakistan has denied any involvement.
Caught in global trade and geopolitical turbulence triggered by US President Donald Trump’s tariff war, Delhi and Beijing have moved to mend ties.
In October 2024, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time in five years at a summit in Russia.
Mr Modi is expected to make his first visit to China since 2018 later in August to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation – a regional security bloc.
Ties between New Delhi and Washington, meanwhile, have been strained by Mr Trump’s ultimatum that
India end its purchases of Russian oil, a key source of revenue for Moscow as it wages its military offensive in Ukraine.
The US says it will double new import tariffs on India from 25 per cent to 50 per cent by Aug 27 if New Delhi does not switch crude suppliers.
The Agni-5 is one of a number of indigenously produced short- and medium-range Indian ballistic missiles aimed at boosting India’s defence posture against Pakistan, as well as China. AFP
