China test-fires missile in Pacific Ocean

A Chinese submarine test-fired a “strategic” missile carrying a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, Beijing said, drawing immediate condemnation from nations in the region.

China made the rare show of its military might on the same day Australia and Fiji signed a major defence treaty, bolstering their ties as Canberra seeks to outmanoeuvre Beijing in the South Pacific.

Monday’s test also comes two years after China’s elite Rocket Force fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the sea near French Polynesia, its first ICBM launch over international waters in more than 40 years.

The new test came when a nuclear submarine launched a “strategic missile carrying a training simulation warhead” at 12:01 pm (0401 GMT), a Chinese navy statement said, adding it had “accurately land(ed) in the designated sea area”.

“This missile test launch is a routine arrangement of China’s annual military training, and relevant countries were informed in advance,” spokesperson 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 being told.

“The Pacific is an Ocean of Peace and we are deeply concerned by China’s testing of nuclear-capable weapons into the South Pacific,” Winston Peters said in a statement, adding that the launch “is not consistent with regional stability”.

Australia called the launch “destabilising”, while Japan said it had “strongly called for a rethink” of the test, and had “expressed serious concerns over China’s increasing military activity”.

Stepped up testing

Beijing has stepped up its nuclear development and boosted defence spending in recent years.

According to the Pentagon, China held 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 off Qingdao, a major military port and seaside resort in China’s east.

The two sides would conduct “harbour-based planning” such as “exercises in command and tactical coordination”, according to state news agency Xinhua.

“For the next step, the participating warships will proceed to the sea near Qingdao to conduct drills in areas such as joint reconnaissance, air and missile defence, 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-fire a nuclear-capable missile into the Pacific Ocean.

“Yes, China has briefed me. I was personally called 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 China had alerted them about an upcoming intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test.

After the launch, foreign minister Peters said that New Zealand was concerned “this now seems to be a recurring pattern 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 splashed into a patch of ocean long designated a nuclear-free zone under an international treaty.

New Zealand’s Defence Force has privately warned that Beijing’s naval forays and ballistic missile tests would become a “persistent” 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 shook the region in the decades following World War II.

China has been seeking to increase its influence there, showering islands with new hospitals, freshly paved roads, and gleaming sports stadiums.