International Response:  United States Supports Code of Conduct

The United States supports the draft proposal of an international code of conduct, approved during a recent conference in Paris, to slow the proliferation of ballistic missiles, U.S. State Department officials said yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 11).  The code is meant to supplement, and not replace, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the officials said.

“The draft International Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation is intended to create a widely subscribed international predisposition against ballistic missile proliferation,” the officials said in a statement.  “It contains a set of broad principles, general commitments and modest building measures.  It is intended to be a voluntary political commitment, not a treaty, and will be open to all countries” (U.S. State Department release, Feb. 11).

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International Response:  Countries Agree to Missile Code of Conduct

At the conclusion of a two-day round of talks in France Friday, more than 80 countries agreed to a draft agreement of an international code of conduct designed to help stop ballistic missile proliferation (see GSN, Feb. 8).

The talk’s participants “acknowledge that missile proliferation is a problem” and that “a multilateral approach can contribute to resolving this problem,” said a French Foreign Ministry spokesman.

The code of conduct, which would only be a political agreement and lack the force of a treaty, would have each signatory outline its ballistic missile program once a year and notify other signatories of any ballistic missile tests (Washington Times, Feb. 10).

France said it plans to be able to present the code of conduct for final approval at a conference in Spain and to organize a signing ceremony at The Hague near the end of this year.

The U.S. delegation to the talks only monitored the comments made by other delegations and did not take part in the discussions, the French official said (Agence France-Presse, Feb. 8).

The head of the Iranian delegation to the talks said the issue of ballistic missile proliferation should be examined by the United Nations.

“The issue of ballistic missiles and controlling policies to limit missile proliferation requires a professional discussion which we believe should be conducted by representatives from world countries and under supervision of the [United Nations],” said Hamid Eslami-Zad (Iranian Republic News Agency, Feb. 7, in FBIS-NES, Feb. 7).

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India I:  New Agni-I Missile Developed to Target Pakistan

Unlike its other Agni predecessors, the Agni-I missile, which India tested last month for the first time, is strategically designed to target Pakistan, India Today reported today (see GSN, Jan. 30).

The first Agni, tested in 1989, has a range of 1,200 kilometers.  The road-mobile Agni-I has a range of 700 kilometers, is five meters shorter than its earlier cousins and has a single-stage solid-fuel rocket, which gives it a higher acceleration rate.  Accelerating 2.5 kilometers per second, the Agni-I can travel 700 kilometers in 10 minutes.

Earlier longer-range Agni missiles were designed to target China, whose southern cities are 3,000 to 5,000 kilometers from India.  Until the Agni becomes operational, Indian nuclear delivery vehicles consist of its 150-kilometer-range Prithvi missiles and its Mirage 2000 aircraft.  The Prithvi, however, is vulnerable because it is fired from near the border.

India also prepared its Agni-II missile for targeting Pakistan, but its long range and two-stage rocket, which drops its booster in mid-flight, created trajectory problems.  Using the more expensive Agni-II against Pakistan would also not be cost-effective — like “using a jeweled scimitar to cut vegetables,” according to one scientist.

India developed the Agni-I to remedy the Prithvi’s vulnerability and the Agni-II’s complexities.  “There was a gap in our missile capability, and Agni fills this,” said retired Lt. Gen. Vinay Shanker.

Indian scientists built the Agni-I within 15 months, significantly less than the usual five-year development period for missiles, India Today reported (Raj Chengappa, India Today, Feb. 11).

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India II:  India Successfully Tests Cryogenic Engine

In Tamil Nadu Saturday, India successfully test-fired a cryogenic engine to be used for a space launch vehicle, according to Agence France-Presse.  The domestically developed engine will probably require more testing before India can consider it ready for use, officials said.  Indian scientists aborted an earlier test in February 2000 due to technical problems.

The United States, Russia, France, China and Japan have similar cryogenic capabilities (Agence France-Presse/Dawn, Feb. 10).

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