Off Ramps

Nuclear competition among China, India, and Pakistan is accelerating with the introduction of new developments in strategic technology, including ballistic and cruise missiles, multiple warhead missiles, and missile defenses. The crisis between India and Pakistan over Pulwama and Balakot, as well as the Doklam crisis between India and China, invite repetition. As diplomacy to reduce tensions is barely visible, Stimson has gathered rising talent and veteran analysts to propose pragmatic, novel approaches to improve ties. The result is the latest book from Stimson’s South Asia Program, Off Ramps from Confrontation in Southern Asia. 

Read approaches by each author below, divided by the sections indicated in the book:

Launching an Expanded Missile Flight-Test Notification Regime By Frank O’Donnell	Modernize the South Asia Nuclear Facility “Non-Attack” Agreement By Toby Dalton

Back to Basics: Pledging Nuclear Restraint By Manpreet Sethi	A Triangular MIRV Restraint Regime in Southern Asia By Sitakanta Mishra	Time to Consider a Trilateral Asian ABM Treaty By Happymon Jacob
No Indian BMD for No Pakistani MIRVs By Sadia Tasleem	Enact a Restraint Regime on MIRV Flight-Testing in South Asia By Zafar Khan

A Joint India-Pakistan Initiative on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons By Arka Biswas	Convene a Joint Commission on the Consequences of a Nuclear War in South Asia By Saira Bano	Use Environmental Diplomacy to Resolve the Sir Creek Dispute By Saleem H. Ali

Create a Channel for a U.S.-China Dialogue on South Asia By Yun Sun	Avoiding Incidents at Sea between India and China By Monish Tourangbam	Clarify and Respect the Line of Actual Control by Travis Wheeler

Join the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty’s International Monitoring System By Sylvia Mishra and Sarah Bidgood	Addressing South Asia’s Fissile Material Conundrum By Mansoor Ahmed	Sharing Nuclear Information By Hannah Haegeland

Breaking the Impasse: Direct Talks between Army Chiefs By Feroz Hassan Khan	A Hotline between National and Nuclear Command Authorities to Manage Tensions By Harry I. Hannah