Barack Obama ‘lacks understanding’ of India’s defence posture: Delhi

In a strong reaction, India hit out at US President Barack Obama for his comments on Indian military doctrine, saying these remarks seemed to have been made due to a “lack of understanding of India’s defence posture”. The US President made these remarks at the Nuclear Security Summit press conference on the military doctrines of India and Pakistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the summit in Washington on March 31 and April 1.

On the US President’s remark that India and Pakistan must ensure that as they develop military doctrines, they are not continually moving in the wrong direction, the external affairs ministry said: “Yes, we have seen those remarks. There seems to be a lack of understanding of India’s defence posture. Conventionally, India has never initiated military action against any neighbour. We also have a no-first use nuclear weapons policy. Since the context was the Nuclear Security Summit, the President’s own remark that ‘expanding nuclear arsenals in some countries, with more small tactical nuclear weapons which could be at greater risk of theft’ sums up the focus of global concern.” India is furious the US has once again hyphenated India and Pakistan together despite India’s clean nuclear record and Pakistan’s dubious record of nuclear proliferation. It was reported a few months ago that Pakistan had developed tactical nuclear warheads to attack the Indian Army’s strike formations.