Russia Is Helping India Extend Range of Missile, U.S. Aides Say
By STEVEN LEE MYERS
WASHINGTON, April 26— Russia is helping India to build a sea-launched ballistic missile that can carry a nuclear warhead and strike deep into Pakistan, say senior Clinton Administration officials, who fear the program will inflame simmering tensions in South Asia.
The assistance has continued for at least three years, the officials said, despite assurances from Russia that its scientists are not contributing restricted technology to India's missile programs.
Vice President Al Gore and other senior Administration officials have appealed to Russian officials to halt the support, with little success. India, which has long had military ties to Russia, has been trying for years to develop more powerful missiles.
Although not tested, the sea-launched missile, the Sagarika, whose name means oceanic in Hindi, is said to have a range of nearly 200 miles and is meant to be launched from submerged submarines.
That would be a technological breakthrough for India in its arms race with Pakistan. American intelligence officials regard the simmering rivalry one of the most dangerous flash points for conventional or even nuclear war. The two countries have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.
India has had an extensive nuclear weapons program since it first tested a nuclear device in 1974.
This month Pakistan tested a medium-range missile that can carry a nuclear weapon that could strike virtually anywhere in India, raising fears of a renewed arms race.
Russia's sale of missiles and missile technology has been one of the more nettlesome obstacles to its improved relations with the United States since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The New York Times reported on Saturday that Russia did nothing to stop a 22-ton shipment of the type of stainless steel used in making missiles on the way to Iran. The shipment was intercepted by customs officials in Azerbaijan just shy of Iranian territory.
Although the Administration's concerns have focused on Iran over the last year, the help to India offers another instance of Russia's unwillingness or inability to control exports of missile technology and suggests a wider pattern of proliferation, the officials and arms experts said.
''Clearly this cooperation with India raises questions,'' said a senior Administration official who, as with the others, insisted on anonymity because of political sensitivities and to protect American intelligence sources.
The precise nature of Russia's aid is not clear, the officials said. The Administration first approached Russia with its concerns as early as the spring of 1995. At that time, the officials said, Russia acknowledged that scientists from quasipublic research institutes that grew out of the Soviet military-industrial complex were providing technological help for the Sagarika missile.
But the Russians insisted that the assistance was limited and involved only the technology needed to launch a missile from beneath the sea's surface, the officials said.
''We had rather extensive discussions, and the Russians told us that there was some cooperation between Russian entities and the Indians, but that the cooperation was very circumscribed,'' a senior Administration official said.
The Administration received ''certain commitments'' that the Russian role did not involve the missile design and that it ''would continue to be circumscribed,'' the senior Administration official said.
Since then, however, intelligence reports have continued to raise questions about Russia's involvement, the official and others said. Another official who tracked the reports said the help had included ''significant engineering services,'' as well as parts and equipment necessary to build and launch the missile.
The assistance appears to violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the 1993 agreement between Russia and the United States to stop helping India or any other country develop ballistic-missile technology. At that time, Russia canceled a Soviet-era sale of equipment and technology to India that could have been used to build a ballistic missile, and it agreed to adhere to the Missile Technology Control Regime, an agreement among 29 major nations to restrict the spread of missiles.
In exchange, the Clinton Administration agreed to lift sanctions that the Bush Administration had imposed on the Russian and Indian space-research programs, clearing the way for American and Russian cooperation on space programs.
In the State Department, the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency, officials are divided about whether Russia's assistance violates the missile regime, which could prompt sanctions against both Russia and India.
Some officials have concluded that the help with the Sagarika is a clear violation. Others say it slips under the limits of the agreement.
The intelligence reports, the officials said, have also left uncertainties, with some suggesting that the Sagarika is a less sophisticated cruise missile and not a ballistic missile, although either could fall under the regime's restrictions.
A senior Defense Department official said even if Russian help did not necessarily violate the regime, the cooperation has still raised concerns that India is close to mastering technology that would significantly improve its arsenal of missiles,
which are now relatively primitive. After that, India could quickly build longer-range missiles.
''The key sensitivity is that the Indians will learn how to launch something from under water -- get it above the water and ignite an engine,'' the official said. ''And then they'll go to the next step after that on their own, something with a longer range.'' 
Henry D. Sokolski, the executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center who was a Pentagon official under President George Bush, said any assistance from Russia to the Sagarika was troubling, even if it did not explicitly violate the agreement's terms.
''Whether it comes up to the edge or over the edge, it's clearly objectionable,'' said Mr. Sokolski, who has criticized the Clinton Administration for not strictly policing proliferation. ''Anything that encourages the Indians to play around with strategic technology is bad business.''
A spokesman at the Russian Embassy in Washington, Mikhail A. Shurgalin, declined to discuss the missile, except to say, ''We fully comply with our commitments under this regime.''
Officials at the Indian Embassy did not respond to telephone inquiries.
India has had a variety of missiles and missile programs, including one to develop a sea-launched ballistic missile. But it has always maintained that the programs are indigenous, and it has not acknowledged the Russian help to the Sagarika.
The Sagarika is being developed in conjunction with fitful efforts by India over the last decade to build a nuclear-powered ballistic submarine, the officials and experts said. A submarine-launched missile would allow India to extend its missile range greatly, theoretically allowing it to strike from around the globe. A submarine-launched missile, because of its mobility and underwater stealth, would also be less vulnerable to attack than land-based missiles.
India's new nationalist Government, led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, announced in March that it would review the country's nuclear policy and consider introducing nuclear weapons to its arsenal. Since then, the new Government has moderated its remarks.
