China says it successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) carrying a fake warhead into the Pacific Ocean.
Beijing’s Defense Ministry said the ICMB was launched at 8:44 a.m. local time (4:44 a.m. GMT) on Wednesday and “landed in the expected sea area,” adding that the test launch was “routine” and part of “annual training.”
The missile’s type and flight path remain unclear, but Chinese state media reported that Beijing had “notified the relevant country in advance.”
Analysts said it was surprising that Beijing described the test as a “routine” one, given that its last nuclear test was in 1980.
China’s nuclear weapons tests are mostly conducted domestically, and it has previously test-fired ICBMs toward the western Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
This is believed to be the first time North Korea has launched an ICBM into international waters since 1980.
“Unless I missed something, this is virtually the first time something like this has happened, and it seems like it’s been a long time since it’s been announced,” Ankit Panda, a nuclear weapons expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told X.
He added that it was odd that Beijing described the tests as “routine” and “annual.” “They don’t do this kind of thing routinely or annually.”
Japan’s Defense Ministry said there was no damage to the ship as of early Wednesday afternoon.
“We will continue to collect and analyze information on the movements of the Chinese military and take all possible precautions in terms of alertness and surveillance,” the Ministry of Defense said, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.
The last time China conducted such a test – in May 1980 – the ICBM flew 9,070 kilometers and landed in the Pacific Ocean. The test involved 18 Chinese naval vessels and is still considered one of China’s largest naval missions.
John Ridge, a U.S. defense analyst, said China may have conducted the test as a form of “posturing or signaling to the United States.”
While relations between China and Washington have improved over the past year, China’s increasingly aggressive stance in the region remains a challenge.
Tensions are running high. China and Philippines Because their ships have repeatedly collided in disputed waters. Last month, Japanese fighter jets scrambled After China accused a Chinese spy plane of violating its airspace, China described the action as “totally unacceptable.”
Beijing’s claim to autonomous Taiwan is another source of tension.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that China has recently been conducting “intensive” missile launches and other exercises. In the same statement, the ministry said it had detected 23 Chinese military aircraft operating “long-range missions” around Taiwan.
Analysts say Beijing intends to normalize incursions through “gray zone warfare” tactics, regularly sending ships and aircraft into Taiwanese waters and airspace.
China suspended nuclear arms control talks with Washington in July this year. US Continues Arms Sales to Taiwan.
China last year Two leaders of the People’s Liberation Army were replaced. The Rocket Force, an elite unit that manages nuclear weapons, has been indicted on corruption charges.
In a report released last year, the Pentagon said China More than 500 operational nuclear warheads The U.S. arsenal contains about 350 ICBMs.
The report also projects that China will have more than 1,000 warheads by 2030. That would still be a fraction of the more than 5,000 warheads the United States and Russia each claim to possess.
