India yesterday successfully test fired a new missile capable of delivering a one-tonne nuclear warhead anywhere in rival China, marking a major advance in its military capabilities.

Watched by hundreds of scientists, the Agni V blasted off shortly after 8 a.m. from a concrete launchpad on an island off the eastern state of Orissa.

India views the rocket, which has a range of 5,000 kilometres, as a key boost to its regional power aspirations and one that narrows – albeit slightly – the huge gap with China’s missile systems.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister A.K. Antony congratulated the nation’s defence scientists on the successful launch, with Antony calling the achievement “a major milestone in India’s missile programme”.

The test leaves India knocking at the door of a select club of nations with inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which have a minimum range of 5,500 kilometres.

Currently only the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – Britain, China, France, Russia and the US – possess a declared ICBM capability.

“This launch has given a message to the entire world that India has the capability to design, develop, build and manufacture missiles of this class, and we are today a missile power,” said V.K. Saraswat, head of India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) which made the missile.

DRDO spokesman Ravi Gupta insisted the Agni V was a “non country-specific” deterrent, but analysts noted it extends India’s missile reach over the entire Chinese mainland, including military installations in the far northeast.

Agni, which means “fire” in Sanskrit, is the name given to a series of rockets India developed as part of its ambitious integrated guided missile development project launched in 1983.

While the shorter-range Agnis I and II were mainly developed with traditional rival Pakistan in mind, later versions with a range of 3,500 kilometres reflect the shift in India’s focus towards China.