China test-fired a long-range ballistic missile with a dummy warhead in the Pacific Ocean on Monday, the first such launch in almost two years, prompting alarmed countries to criticize the move as destabilizing.
Governments in the region were warned of the launch shortly beforehand. The overt display of China’s fast-expanding military capabilities threatens to further fan a defense buildup around the Pacific in the midst of anxieties about the strength of the U.S. commitment to the region.
The missile was launched from a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine and sent a “mock warhead” into the Pacific Ocean, according to a report from Xinhua, China’s official news agency.
“The missile landed accurately in the designated area,” the report said. The test launch at 12:01 p.m. Beijing time, Xinhua said, was “not directed against any specific country or target.”
It was not immediately clear where the missile was fired from or landed. The launch came as the leaders of Australia and Fiji announced a mutual defense treaty and a regional security alliance, the latest in a string of agreements Canberra has been striking with Pacific Island nations that are widely viewed as efforts to push back against China’s encroachment.
In September 2024, China fired a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile carrying a dummy warhead across the Pacific Ocean into waters near French Polynesia, drawing condemnation from countries in the region. It was China’s first-known ICBM test in the Pacific region in four decades.
