India's navy chief said on Monday that Pakistan's alleged modifications of US-supplied anti-ship missiles to make them capable of striking land targets showed the danger of proliferation. The New York Times reported Saturday that US officials have complained to Pakistan about modifications of the Harpoon missiles that would make them capable of hitting land targets in neighbouring India.
"This has nothing to do with Pakistan's self-defence and it is against Indian interest," Admiral Sureesh Mehta told reporters in New Delhi. This shows the "danger of proliferation and we have been telling this from time to time", he said. The changes to the Harpoons, sold by the US as a defensive weapon during the Cold War in the 1980s, would be a violation of the Arms Control Export Act in the United States, the paper said. Pakistan has denied the charge, saying it developed the missile itself. The new weapon would be a key new entry in Pakistan's arsenal against India, The Times said. It would enable Pakistan's navy to strike targets on land, complementing the sizeable land-based missile arsenal that Pakistan has developed.