US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter praises India's nuclear restraint

Nuclear restraint exercised by India has brought the country some praise on Tuesday from US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter.

Carter, who was speaking on the subject of Sustaining Nuclear Deterrence at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, noted India's responsible behaviour in nuclear technology, PTI reported.  

Carter noted that nuclear deterrence is the bedrock of US security, but said that the deterrence mission has remained same and has not changed. But he accepted that the nuclear landscape has changed.

"One way the nuclear landscape has changed: we didn't build new types of nuclear weapons or delivery systems for the last 25 years, but others did, at the same time that our allies in Asia, the Middle East, and NATO did not, so we must continue to sustain our deterrence," he said according to the official statement.

Casting his doubts over Russia modernising its nuclear arsenal, he questioned the strategies of Russian leaders.

Carter called the recent North Korean nuclear activity as reminder of a nuclear threat looming large in the world, but assured that the US is ready to extend its deterrence to the "allies in the region". He also cautioned North Korea on the use of nuclear weapon, saying it will be "met with an overwhelming and effective response."

However, apart from India, Carter praised China too as behaving responsibly.

He noted that Iran's nuclear aspirations have been "constrained" and as long as they continue implementing the historic nuclear deal with P5+1 group (the US, UK, France, China and Russia plus Germany), it will be unable to acquire nuclear weapon.

He said that Pakistani nuclear weapons are "entangled in a history of tension" and assured that they were not a threat to US directly. But he also revealed that US works with Pakistan to "ensure stability."