Is India's Missile Test the Start of an Arms Race With China? April 20, 2012, 8:15 am Viewfinder A roundup of opinion and commentary from international media. As India celebrated on Thursday the successful launching of Agni V, a long-range ballistic missile capable of reaching Beijing and carrying a nuclear weapon, much of the world yawned. Is it ignoring a growing arms race in Asia at its peril? Many in India called the operation a game-changer for the region. "Agni V has enhanced the strength and credibility of India's deterrence capabilities as never before," writes the Deccan Herald. Agni can now reach all parts of China. Manu Pubby, of the Indian Express, agrees: the "missile gives India true land-based deterrence against China." Beijing claims not to be losing any sleep over the matter. In a patronizing editorial, the Global Times cautions India against getting too confident. "India should be clear that China's nuclear power is stronger and more reliable," writes the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party. For the foreseeable future, India would stand no chance in an overall arms race with China. Bluster aside, the editorial has a point. "India presently sees a much greater threat from China than vice-versa," Rory Medcalf and Fiona Cunningham point out in The Hindu. The development of Indian missile and submarine capabilities has a way to go before it can credibly deter China. Maybe that's why the rest of the world hasn't seemed much alarmed. Or maybe it's because, according to Pubby in the Indian Express, "India has carefully worked on the range and capability of the Agni V to ensure it does not alarm the world." The U.A.E.-based The National, however, is concerned about prospects for relations between India and China after "provocative military manoeuvres from both sides in recent months." It claims that "it's worth reminding both New Delhi and Beijing that they have more to gain through cooperation than by increasing competition." The Independent also sees reason for worry. Even if the West is more worried about North Korea and Iran, "this degree of proliferation threatens us all." Daniel Politi is a freelance writer living in Argentina.