China fires intercontinental missile into Pacific in rare test

China said it test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile yesterday, firing it into the Pacific Ocean in its first such exercise in decades.

The launch sparked protests from other countries in the region, with Japan saying it had not been given advance notice and expressing "serious concern."

Beijing has stepped up its nuclear development and boosted defense spending in recent years, with the Pentagon last October warning China was developing its arsenal more quickly than the United States had anticipated.

China held more than 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023 and is likely to have more than 1,000 by 2030, it said.

The Chinese military's Rocket Force yesterday "launched an ICBM ... carrying a dummy warhead to the high seas in the Pacific Ocean at 8.44am, and the missile fell into expected sea areas," the defense ministry said.

"This is extremely unusual and likely the first time in decades that we've seen a test like this," said Ankit Panda, Stanton Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"[The test] likely speaks to China's ongoing nuclear modernization manifesting in new requirements for testing," he added.

The defense ministry called the firing a "routine arrangement in our annual training plan," adding that it "is not directed against any country or target."

New Zealand said the missile launch was "an unwelcome and concerning development."

Beijing first test-fired an ICBM into the South Pacific in the 1980s. But since then, Panda said, it has typically conducted tests in its own airspace.

In 2021, the US said it was "very concerned" about hypersonic missile testing by China.

The US and China in November held rare talks on nuclear arms control ahead of a summit between leaders Joe Biden and Xi Jinping.

But in July, Beijing said it had suspended negotiations with the US in response to Washington's weapons sales to Taiwan.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute listed China as having the world's third-largest stockpile of nuclear warheads, after Russia and the US.

Meanwhile, Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner backed the permanent stationing of a US missile system in his country amid clashes between China and the US and its regional partners from the South China Sea to Taiwan.

The US Army deployed the Typhon mid-range missile system in the Philippines during joint military exercises in April and has kept them there.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE