JERUSALEM, Feb 5 (News Agencies) - India has signed an order for Israeli shipboard missiles worth $270 million, Israeli public radio reported Monday.
Israel's defense ministry had no confirmation of the report of the order for Barak type missiles, which have a range of some 10 kilometers (six miles) and can be used against air or surface targets.
The radio report said exports of Israeli arms last year totaled $2.3 billion, placing the country fifth in the world for weapons sales.
Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, on a visit to Egypt Saturday, was quoted by the state MENA news agency as categorically denying Arab League allegations that India and Israel were involved in nuclear cooperation.
Singh said all such allegations were false, adding that India had been developing its own nuclear capabilities since 1956 without the aid of any other country, MENA reported.
The United States has tried to block Israeli-Indian military cooperation after India conducted five nuclear test explosions in May 1998, prompting its Muslim neighbor and regional rival Pakistan to carry out similar tests.
While India has a declared nuclear weapons capability, Israel has maintained an ambiguous policy neither confirming nor denying its capability. However, foreign experts estimate that Israel has at least 200 nuclear warheads with delivery systems.
India wants to be a big player on the world scene, but is hamstrung by its chronic confrontation with Pakistan, a Muslim nation. Ties with Pakistan sank in 1998 after India tested nuclear devices, and relations between the rivals worsened over time.
In 1999, alleged Pakistan-backed activists overran Indian posts in Kashmir, and a military coup in Pakistan brought an army general to power.
Despite Pakistani assurances that its nuclear weapons program is designed solely to counter India, Israelis have called for better ties with India in order to combat what the Israelis call "the first Islamic nuclear bomb."
