21.  India says it needs a nuclear option to counter neighbors China and Pakistan with which it has territorial disputes.

22.  India has long argued it needed to keep its nuclear option open because neighboring Pakistan and China have nuclear weapons.

23.  India has not yielded Western pressure for it to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, saying it must keep the nuclear option open because Pakistan is developing nuclear weapons.

24.  India has refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, saying it needs a nuclear option to counter Pakistan and China.

25.  Indian officials say they need to keep the nuclear option open because of uneasy relations with Pakistan and China.

26.  India has often said that it needs to retain its nuclear option because of threats from its hostile neighbors, Pakistan and China.

27.  India says it needs to keep its nuclear options open because it borders China, a nuclear powerhouse, and Pakistan, which reportedly is also developing nuclear arms.

28.  India says it would like to retain the nuclear option because its neighbors, Pakistan and China, do so too.

29.  India will keep its nuclear option open and it is not lagging behind its archenemy Pakistan in security matters, Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao said Thursday.

30.  India, sandwiched between China and Pakistan, says it cannot rule out its nuclear option.