China Test-Fires Ballistic Missile From Sub in South Pacific
China said the launch was routine training as Australia, New Zealand and Japan condemned the rare Pacific test and cited regional security risks.
- 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.
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281 Articles
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The Associated Press reports: China’s navy test-launched a long-range ballistic missile Monday from one of its nuclear-powered submarines in the South Pacific, a rare act that drew protests and concern from countries in the region. The missile carried a dummy warhead, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. China last conducted a missile test in the Pacific two years ago, firing an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead, t…
China’s Missile Message Explained
China just fired a long-range missile across the Pacific and called it “routine,” while the small island nations under its flight path say they were kept in the dark and treated like they do not matter. Story Snapshot China tested a nuclear-capable missile with a dummy warhead into the Pacific, calling it routine training. The...
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