India has successfully test fired a new nuclear-capable missile known as the 'China Killer', prompting fears of regional instability as more countries join in the arms race.
India and China have become more militarised in recent years, spending more and more on defence, as their economies have boomed.
India's Agni V intercontinental missile (ICBM) has a range of more than 3,000 miles and is capable of hitting targets like the Chinese capital Beijing with a nuclear warhead - Europe is also in reach.
The successful test means the emerging Asian superpower is now a member of an elite club of countries with long-range ICBMs at their disposal.
The missile was launched from a tiny island off India's east coast.
The director of the test range, S P Dash, told the Reuters news agency that the launch had "met all the mission objectives."
"It hit the target with very good accuracy," he added.
The Agni V is part of a missile programme which was developed to counter threats from India's larger and richer northern neighbour China .
The capability gives India not only prestige but hard power on the global stage - the country is demanding it is given a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
Western nations have not criticised the launch - unlike North Korea's doomed test earlier in the week - but the Chinese have taken umbrage sparking fears of increased tensions between the two rivals.
An editorial in China's Global Times newspaper stated menacingly that "India should not overestimate its strength".
India lost a short war against China in the Himalayas in 1962 and both countries continue to eye each other cautiously.
Nato however has issued a statement saying it does not see the test as a threat.
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