China test-launches ballistic missile from sub in South Pacific, drawing protests
Australia, New Zealand and Japan criticized the launch, which China said was routine training and carried a dummy warhead.
- On Monday, July 6, 2026, China's navy test-launched a long-range ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine into the South Pacific, with the Xinhua News Agency characterizing it as a "routine arrangement" of annual training involving a dummy warhead.
- The launch occurred the same day Australia and Fiji signed the Ocean of Peace alliance, a mutual defence treaty aimed at countering regional Chinese influence, prompting immediate criticism from Pacific leaders.
- New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the missile landed within the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone and was "not consistent with regional stability," adding that Beijing informed his government only hours before launch.
- Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong called the test "destabilising" due to lack of transparency, while Japan urged China to reconsider; an internal New Zealand Defense Force document warned such tests may become a "persistent" regional feature.
- This test follows China's September 2024 ICBM launch, reflecting broader modernization as the Pentagon reports Beijing aims to field more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030, suggesting normalization of long-range missile launches in international waters.
177 Articles
177 Articles
For some, it is only a routine military exercise. For others, a test that risks denoting the region of the southern Pacific. Among the waters of the...
China carried out a missile test fire in the Pacific, triggering the anger of the countries of the region.
The Chinese Army has reported this Monday that it has conducted a test with a strategic missile launched from a submarine in Pacific waters, a military maneuver that has raised criticism from neighbors such as Japan or Australia. The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy successfully launched “a strategic missile with a simulated warhead towards international waters of the Pacific Ocean” at 12:01 p.m. (6:01 hours from Spain), the news agency Xin…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 48% of the sources are Center
![[your]NEWS](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroundnews.b-cdn.net%2Finterests%2Ffb6dc495f74049f513563c33352175eaa0ecd509.jpg%3Fwidth%3D60&w=128&q=75)
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
