Use First or No First Use? Potential New Arms Race in South Asia

The recent escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan has led to discussions about the use of nuclear weapons in one of the most heavily-populated regions of the world. Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hinted of a possible change to India’s “no first use policy” (NFU) on nuclear weapons, emphasising ambiguous ‘future circumstances as a reason for the strategic policy change’. Pakistan, while not having a similar policy, indicated through its Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmoud Qureshi, that such a change is a ‘damning reminder of India’s unbridled thirst for violence’. China, on the other hand, also began to move to change its NFU policy.Read More…