India is set to test its new long-range nuclear missile for the first time, giving the country the capability to hit Beijing and China - and beyond.
The pair, who fought a war in 1962, and continue to argue over borders, and the aim of the $500 million Agni V missile is to turn India into Asia's main superpower.
India's government said today that the missile has a range of 3,100 miles or 5,000 kilometres and could be up off their country's coast as early as tonight.
A new map released shows the nuclear weapon could also reach far into Europe and eastern Africa.
Pioneering: Here are the first artist's impression of Agni V, set to be seen for the first time and fired in the next two days
China is far ahead of India in the missile race, with intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching anywhere in the country.
'While China doesn't really consider India any kind of a threat or any kind of a rival, India definitely doesn't think in the same way,' said Rahul Bedi, a defence analyst in New Delhi.
India already has the capability of hitting anywhere inside arch-rival Pakistan, but has engaged in a splurge of defence spending in recent years to counter the perceived Chinese threat.
The Indian navy took command of a Russian nuclear submarine earlier this year, and India is expected to take delivery of a retrofitted Soviet-built aircraft carrier soon.
The new Agni, named for the Hindi word for fire, is part of this military build-up and was designed to hit deep inside China, Bedi said.
Currently, the longest-range Indian missile, the Agni-III, has a range of only 2,100 miles or 3,500 kilometres and falls short of many major Chinese cities.
India has also been suspicious of Beijing's efforts to increase its influence in the Indian Ocean in recent years and sees the weapons race as a way to fight back.
'It will be a quantum leap in India's strategic capability,' said Ravi Gupta, spokesman for India's Defence research team, which built the missile.
Government officials said the missile should not be seen as a threat.
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