China test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday. The Defense Ministry reported that the missile, which carried a dummy warhead, landed in a predetermined area of the sea.
The ICMB was initiated at 08:44 local time (04:44 GMT), and the launch was part of the People’s Liberation Army’s routine annual training and complied with international law, with no specific country or target being targeted.
A map released in Chinese newspapers indicated that the target area was approximately a circle within a ring formed by the Solomon Islands, Nauru, the Gilbert Islands, Tuvalu, western Samoa, Fiji, and the New Hebrides. The U.S. and various non-governmental organizations have reported that China is expanding its missile silos, although the exact number of missiles and nuclear warheads added to its arsenal remains unclear.
Ankit Panda, a nuclear weapons specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, authored a post on X, stating, “PRC statement description of this specific test as ‘routine’ and ‘annual’ seems odd given that they don’t do this sort of thing either routinely or annually.”
“Interesting timing following PRC takeover of the P5 process, but doubt there’s a direct link given how their bureaucracy does things,” he added.
China’s last similar test occurred in May 1980, when an ICBM travelled 9,070 kilometres and landed in the Pacific. That launch involved 18 Chinese naval ships and is regarded as one of the country’s largest naval operations to date.
Frances Ibiefo
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