India a responsible nuclear state, Pakistan an unstable one: US

US defence secretary Ashton Carter has termed India “a responsible nuclear state”, saying Pakistan’s “history of nuclear weapons is entangled in tensions” and that the US was working with Islamabad to ensure stability. “The landscape of nuclear weapons has changed in the last 25 years,” Mr Carter said on Tuesday at a conference on ‘Sustaining Nuclear Deterrence’ at the Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, US. “Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are entangled in a history of tension, and while they are not a threat to the United States directly, we work with Pakistan to ensure stability,” he added. Mr Carter said while the US had not done much to boost Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, other countries had.

He, however, praised India for showing responsible behaviour with its nuclear technology. Talking about China, he said Beijing “conducts itself professionally in the nuclear arena, despite growing its arsenal in both quality and quantity”. He echoed global concerns over the advances in nuclear technology achieved by North Korea. Mr Carter also talked of Russia. The country had long been a nuclear power, he said, but recently raised “serious questions” about its leadership’s commitment to strategic stability and Russia’s long-established abhorrence of using nuclear weapons.

The landscape of nuclear weapons has changed in the last 25 years. Beijing conducts itself professionally in the nuclear arena, despite growing its arsenal in both quality and quantity. Ashton Carter US defence secretary