Die Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Foto: Li Gang / Xinhua / Xinhua via AFP)
- New Zealand says it is “deeply concerned” about China’s missile test
- Japan says it has “seriously” urged China to reconsider the launch
A Chinese submarine launched a “strategic” missile into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, a move that immediately drew condemnation from several countries in the region.
China’s display of military capabilities came on the same day Australia and Fiji signed a key defense treaty to strengthen ties, as Canberra seeks to counter Beijing’s influence in the South Pacific.
The test also follows two years after China’s elite rocket force launched an intercontinental ballistic missile into the sea near French Polynesia. At the time, it was the country’s first intercontinental ballistic missile launch over international waters in more than 40 years.
According to a statement from the Chinese navy, a nuclear-powered submarine launched a “strategic missile with a training simulation warhead”, which landed “accurately in the designated sea area”.
“This missile launch forms part of China’s annual military training, and relevant countries have been notified in advance,” spokesman Wang Xuemeng said in a statement.
However, New Zealand’s foreign minister said information about the test was shared with his country only “hours” before it took place.
“The Pacific Ocean is an ocean of peace and we are deeply concerned about China’s test of nuclear-capable missiles in the South Pacific,” said Winston Peters. According to him, the launch “is not in line with regional stability”.
Australia described the launch as “destabilising”, while Japan said it had “strongly requested that the test be reconsidered”. The country also expressed its “serious concern over China’s increasing military activity”.
Photo for illustration. (Photo: Provided)
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In recent years, Beijing has expanded its nuclear weapons program and significantly increased defense spending.
According to the Pentagon, headquarters of the US Department of Defense, China had more than 500 operational nuclear warheads by May 2023 and this number could be over a thousand by 2030.
The missile launch took place on the same day that China and Russia began their annual joint naval exercises near Qingdao, a major military port on China’s east coast.
According to the state news agency Xinhua, the two countries will first conduct planning in the port, including exercises in command and tactical coordination.
“In the next phase, the warships will move to the sea area near Qingdao for joint reconnaissance, air and missile defense, as well as training in the actual use of weapons,” Xinhua reported.
Papua New Guinea’s foreign minister and a source in the New Zealand government told AFP on Monday that China is preparing to test a nuclear-capable missile in the Pacific Ocean.
“Yes, China informed me. The Chinese ambassador called me personally,” said Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko.
A source in the New Zealand government also told AFP that China had informed the country in advance about a planned intercontinental ballistic missile test.
After the launch, Peters said New Zealand was concerned that this “now appears to be a repeating pattern by China”.
The missile landed in a part of the Pacific Ocean designated as a nuclear weapon-free zone in terms of an international treaty.
According to an internal document obtained by AFP last month, New Zealand’s military has warned behind closed doors that Beijing’s naval deployment and ballistic missile tests will become a “persistent” feature of the Pacific region.
Many Pacific island nations still bear the scars of the nuclear weapons tests that rocked the region in the decades after World War II.
Meanwhile, China is trying to expand its influence in the region by financing new hospitals, renovated roads and modern sports stadiums on these islands.