A Chinese submarine test-fired a “strategic” missile carrying a dummy warhead in the Pacific Ocean on Monday, Beijing said, drawing immediate condemnation from nations in the region.
China made a rare show of its military power on the same day Australia and Fiji signed a major defense treaty, strengthening their ties as Canberra seeks to outmaneuver Beijing in the South Pacific.
Monday’s test also comes two years later China’s elite missile forces fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the sea off French Polynesiaits first ICBM launch over international waters in more than 40 years.
The new test came when a nuclear submarine fired a “strategic missile carrying a training simulation warhead” at 12:01 pm (0401 GMT), a Chinese navy statement said, adding that it had “accurately landed in the designated sea area”.
“This missile test launch is a routine adjustment of China’s annual military exercise, and relevant countries have been informed in advance,” spokesman Wang Xuemeng said in the WeChat statement.
But New Zealand’s foreign minister said the test had been carried out “within hours” of his country’s announcement.
“The Pacific is an ocean of peace and we are deeply concerned by China’s testing of nuclear-capable weapons in the South Pacific,” Winston Peters said in a statement, adding that the launch was “incompatible with regional stability.”
Australia called the launch “destabilizing”, while Japan said it had “called for a review” of the test and had “expressed serious concerns about China’s increased military activity”.
Enhanced testing
Beijing has ramped up its nuclear development and increased defense spending in recent years.
According to the Pentagon, China maintained more than 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023 and is likely to have more than 1,000 by 2030.
The test launch came on the same day that China and Russia began their annual joint naval exercises in Qingdao, a major military port and coastal resort in eastern China.
According to the state news agency Xinhua, the two sides will conduct “port-based planning” such as “command and tactical coordination exercises”.
“For the next step, the participating warships will continue at sea near Qingdao to conduct exercises in areas such as joint reconnaissance, air and missile defense, as well as training in the actual use of weapons,” Xinhua said.
Papua New Guinea’s foreign minister and a New Zealand government source told AFP earlier on Monday that China was preparing to test a nuclear-capable missile in the Pacific Ocean.
“Yes, China has informed me. I have been personally summoned by the Chinese ambassador,” Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko said when asked if he had been warned.
A New Zealand government source earlier told AFP that China had warned them of an upcoming intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test.
After the launch, Foreign Minister Peters said New Zealand was concerned “this now appears to be a pattern being repeated by China”.
ICBM test
The 2024 ICBM test appeared to be one of China’s advanced Dong Feng-31 missiles, analysts said at the time, a weapon capable of delivering a thermonuclear warhead.
The long-range missile sprayed a part of the ocean long designated a nuclear-free zone under an international treaty.
The New Zealand Defense Force has privately warned that Beijing’s naval attacks and ballistic missile tests will become a “continuing” feature of the Pacific, according to an internal document obtained by AFP last month.
Pacific island nations remain deeply scarred by the nuclear tests that rocked the region in the decades after World War II.
China has sought to increase its influence there, filling the islands with new hospitals, newly paved roads and glitzy sports stadiums.
