Pakistan’s massively aggravated threat perceptions now have wider dimensions; they emanate from the larger Asian and especially the GMER-South Asian contexts. The US is the most dominant and hegemonic military power at the Asian and global levels. It has an unqualified global strategic reach and a corresponding sphere of influence. China, its ostensible adversary or competitor, has its own threat perceptions from it and continues efforts to maintain a viable strategic balance between them. This has resulted in the PLA acquiring phenomenal multidimensional, multidomain military and technological capacities and capabilities. India, which has a long-standing border dispute with China and considers itself its equal in most if not all respects, views China’s burgeoning military-nuclear-missile prowess with extreme trepidation. It feels that China’s evolving military might, ostensibly vis-a-vis the US, can and will be used against it too. Consequently, it feels compelled to seek a favourable strategic balance with China. In turn, Pakistan views India’s enhanced military prowess, ostensibly against China, with well founded apprehensions. It fears that India’s growing military capacities and capabilities can and will be employed against it too. Therefore, it too is forced to continuously upgrade its own military-nuclear-missile capacities to maintain credible, full spectrum deterrence and a viable strategic balance in the South Asian-subcontinental context. A domino effect, a cyclic progression and multidomain proliferation of military technologies, capacities and capabilities is thus a natural corollary to the clashing geostrategic objectives of the major players in South Asia and the larger Asian theatre. This critical geostrategic environment will not change unless the geopolitical........

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