Beijing said the move was not aimed at any particular country, dismissing accusations of escalation
A Chinese nuclear submarine launched a long-range ballistic missile with a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, marking the first such test since 2024.
“This test launch is a routine part of the Chinese PLA Navy’s annual training,” Navy spokesman Wang Xuemeng said in a statement. “The Chinese side notified relevant countries in advance.”
“This test launch complies with international law and international practice and is not directed at any specific country or target,” Wang added.
The spokesman said the missile had “landed precisely within the designated waters.” CNN, citing a regional source, reported that it landed near the exclusive economic zone of either Kiribati or Tuvalu.
The US, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan condemned the test as a dangerous escalation. US State Department spokesman Thomas Pigott said “Beijing’s rapid and opaque nuclear weapons buildup is of great concern to the region and the world.” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong accused China of destabilizing the region, describing Beijing’s military activities as “lacking in transparency and reassurance.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning pushed back against the criticism, saying the test had been conducted in “a safe, standard and professional manner.” She urged all countries to “not read too much into it.”
The US and China have exchanged some warm gestures in recent months. US President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in May during a visit that both sides hailed as cordial. Trump said on Monday that he expects Xi to visit the US in late September. Xi earlier congratulated Trump on the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.
At the same time, tensions have persisted. In May, the US imposed new sanctions on Chinese oil companies allegedly involved in trade with Iran and, the following month, blacklisted another batch of entities it accused of supplying weapons to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). China responded by sanctioning 10 US companies involved in the defense, aerospace, and rare earth mining sectors.
China has also condemned the US-Israel war against Iran and the US energy blockade of Cuba as violations of international law.
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