Re: IAF Capabilities vs PAF Power
The fundamentalist hindu party after forming a government tested nuclear bombs and then started making aggressive statements against Pakistan. How can there be peace with hindu religious fundmentalists in power, if there was no peace for the previous 50 years or so. India has never been sincere about peace. Its say one thing and does something else. Below in an interview before Kargill of hawkish Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes.
``There is some part of Jammu and Kashmir which is lying with China. That is a factor which can't be lightly dismissed,'' Fernandes said in a wide-ranging interview to Eenadu Television.
*Referring to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the Defence Minister said ``the ground realities are that there is a part of Jammu and Kashmir which is occupied by Pakistan, and that part has to be reclaimed.'' *
He also ruled out conversion of the Line of Control (LoC) into an international border. ``That is not the position of the government and I don't think that will be the position of the government.''
Asked about the country's internal and external threats, Fernandes spoke of exploitation of economic problems by outside forces,the proxy war by Pakistan, the border problem with China and a perceived Chinese influence over Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
``We have seen what happened in Mumbai, Coimbatore and we have also seen the insurgencies in the Northeast.''
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are the most insecure'' frontier of India, the Defence Minister said.We have a naval outfit there, a small Army unit and a couple of airfields, and that is about all. These sea lanes are of very vital significance for India's security.''
``Now we have decided to go in for a new naval command (third command) in Andamans to deal with the situation.'' On the situation on the LoC, he said that in the past three to four days, Pakistani forces had raised their level of firing and the civilian population had become their target.
On the post-Pokharan talks with the United States, he said, ``Both sides are able to see each other's concerns, and there seems to have been greater understanding of our concerns on the part of theUS.''
Now that India has gone nuclear, he said, a command and control system is inevitable. There is no question of whether we are going to have it. It is a must.'' it is the political leadership that will have to keep its fingers on the trigger,'' Fernandes said.
However, in India
Asked about the minimum level of weaponisation of nuclear capability which could provide a credible nuclear deterrence, he said, ``It is a matter which is best left unsaid.''