Several observers also pointed out the timing of the test corrected a nine-year-old slight, when China detonated a massive underground nuclear device during a 1992 visit by then Indian president K. Venkataraman.

India on Wednesday successfully tested the Agni-II, which can be fired from a mobile platform and is capable of carrying a one-tonne nuclear warhead up to 2,500 kilometers (1,560 miles) -- deep into Pakistani or Chinese territory.

Pakistan condemned the test as a "direct threat" to its national security, while Japan urged India to refrain from further tests and Britain worried about New Delhi sending the "wrong signals" in the volatile South Asia region.

China on Thursday said it had noted the missile test and warned against any escalation of a South Asian arms race.

"China, together with the international community, hopes to see peace and stability in the region. We are unwilling to see any form of arms race," said foreign ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao.

China's second highest leader, parliamentary chairman Li Peng, was touring the southern Indian city of Hyderabad when the test took place.

"It reflects India's growing confidence that the China-reachable missile was tested while Li was still on Indian soil," said noted China analyst Brahma Chellaney.

"The test signals India's determination to build strategic autonomy and deter China."

The Agni-II is considered crucial to India's plans for developing an effective nuclear deterrent following its shock underground nuclear tests in May 1998.

Those tests sent Indo-Chinese ties into a downward spiral after New Delhi cited a perceived threat from neighbouring China as part justification.

The Indian foreign ministry on Wednesday said India had informed all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- about the Agni-II test, as well as Pakistan, Germany and Japan.

The Times of India said in an editorial that further tests should be carried out "in quick succession" to facilitate the missile's early production.

"The timing may be purely coincidental, though it may also send a message to Beijing which refers to India as a 'major nation' in the South Asia region, while China considers itself to be a global power," the Times said.

"Now is the time for New Delhi to broach with China a proposal for a mutual no first use declaration in respect of nuclear weapons."

The test also came as India and arch-rival Pakistan appeared to be making ground towards some sort of dialogue over the disputed region of Kashmir.

Despite Islamabad's strong condemnation, analysts said the test was unlikely to derail the process started by India's decision to suspend military operations against Mulsim militant groups in Kashmir from November 27.

"This test has to be seen in the context of the peace race, or rather peace crawl, in South Asia," said Stephen Cohen, a South Asia security expert with the US-based Brookings Institute.

"It would be ironic if a test aimed at influencing Chinese opinion ended up influencing Pakistani opinion," Cohen said, adding there was "enough incentive" in both India and Pakistan to maintain the peace process despite hurdles like the launch of the Agni-II.

Cohen also pointed to widespread doubts over how nuclear capable India actually was, especially in terms of developing a miniaturised warhead.

"The big question now is: 'Does India have a warhead and will it test that warhead?'," he said.

"The feeling is that India has a considerable way to go ... to demonstrate nuclear capability on top of a missile."

All rights reserved. � 2001 Agence France-Presse. All information displayed on this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

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