India has successfully test-fired an indigenously developed intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead deep into the territory of its geopolitical rival, China, just as Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares for his first visit there in years. The Agni-5 was launched in India’s eastern Odisha state and “validated all operational and technical parameters,” the country’s defense ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. The missile has a range of more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles), according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies Missile Defense Project. That puts India’s rivals like China and Pakistan well within range of the weapon. India and China are locked in a fierce battle for influence across the Asia-Pacific. Both have navigated a frosty relationship after deadly clashes at their shared Himalayan border in 2020 pushed the two further apart than at any time in decades. India is playing catch-up as the People’s Liberation Army expands its arsenal and tensions continue to simmer along their disputed border. A report published in June by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimates that China now has around 600 nuclear warheads, while India has 180. The Agni-5 test comes on the heels of a visit to New Delhi by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a trip that set the stage for Modi’s own late-August visit to China for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) a security grouping that includes Russia and Pakistan.

Full report : India tests nuclear capable missile a week ahead of Modi’s visit to China.