The US has urged nuclear weapons States to exercise restraint regarding the use and testing of their nuclear capabilities, a top American official has said while responding to Pakistan’s test-firing of its first nuclear-capable submarine cruise missile.
“We have seen reports of this missile launch submarine-launched the missile,” State Department Spokesman John Kirby told reporters in response to a question on Pakistan.
“We continue to urge all states with nuclear weapons to exercise restraint regarding nuclear and missile capability testing and use, and we encourage efforts to promote confidence-building and stability with respect to those capabilities,” Kirby said on Monday.
Answering a question by an Indian journalist in his briefing, John Kirby, state department spokesman said they encourage efforts to promote confidence-building and stability with respect to those capabilities.
Pakistan test fired the Cruise missile Babur-III on Monday from a submarine and successfully hit its ground target at least 450 kilometres (km) at distance.
The test of the submarine-launched missile has given the country with a credible second nuclear strike capability.
Babur 3 was stated to be a sub-launched variant of the land-based Babur 2, which was tested in December 2016 and features improved avionics and accuracy. Babur 3 features “underwater controlled propulsion and advanced guidance and navigation features, duly augmented by Global Navigation, Terrain and Scene Matching Systems.”
A second-strike capability was a “manifestation of the strategy of measured response to nuclear strategies and postures being adopted by India.”
Development of Babur 3 was also hailed as “a step towards [Pakistan] reinforcing policy of credible minimum deterrence.”
Mansoor Ahmed, a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and an expert on Pakistan’s nuclear program and delivery systems, said Babur 3 is a “significant milestone” in Pakistan’s effort to complete its nuclear triad.
“It has proven the speculation that Pakistan will not follow India’s pathway to a naval leg of the triad via nuclear submarines but opt for a more cost-effective solution tailored to its own strategic calculus and capabilities,” he said.
Combined with the very low-frequency communication facility unveiled last year, Ahmed believes Pakistan’s Naval Strategic Force Command can now deploy nuclear-armed cruise missiles on its conventional submarines to ensure a credible second-strike capability.
Read more: Pakistan gains second strike capability with test-fire of submarine-launched cruise missile
