Abstract
Arms control sceptics claim that arms control is either impossible in hostile rivalries or unnecessary in confrontations where disputes are being resolved. We propose five arms control measures, including training alerts, no travel zones, declaration on principles of training standards, incident notification, and no-testing moratoria in operational deployment areas in South Asia. To test the validity of these five arms control measures, we apply these measures to the 9 March 2022 incident of the accidental/inadvertent launch of an Indian BrahMos cruise missile into Pakistan. Next, we survey past and current arms control developments in South Asia, and the impact of the contemporary political atmosphere on the likelihood of future arrangements. We then analyze a relationship between nuclear deterrence theory and nuclear use risks in South Asia including accidental or inadvertent ones.