Impromptu response

Sir, - India's welcoming of the latest Nuclear Missile Defence plan of the Bush administration is a sort of mystery. Usually, the Ministry of External Affairs is slow to respond to even significant international happenings. Therefore, this immediate positive reaction towards the NMD begs questions. Is it an impromptu response to the impromptu gesture by the U.S. President, Mr. George Bush? And is it connected to Mr. Jaswat Singh's recent visit to Washington?

Bharat D. Malai,

Bangalore

Sir, - Your Editorial, `The Sino- Russian entente' (May 2). The U.S. wants to unilaterally discard the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty signed when Russia was the mighty USSR. Its eagerness to pursue the NMD system, despite world criticism, smacks of its growing imperialistic attitude. After all, when the threat of nuclear war is receding and nuclear weapons have only diplomatic and not literal use, where is the need to instal a provocative system which has the potential ``to destabilise the prevalent strategic balance across the world''?

C.R. Narayanan,

Cuddalore

Sir, - In the report `Strategic triangle: more a fiction' (May 2) Mr. K.K. Katyal does not seem to know that the basic principle behind forming the strategic triangle is to counter Islamic insurgency. The reason for not forming the triangle soon enough was that India feared that the formation of a military bloc with Russia may affect ties with the U.S.; China's fear is also similar. But the formation of a strategic triangle will come true in the future. Already a strategic bloc called `Shangai Five' has been formed by Russia.

M. Natarajan,

Chennai

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