China’s military test-fired a long-range ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, in a rare launch that drew swift criticism from Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
The missile, carrying a dummy warhead, was launched at 12:01 p.m. Beijing time and landed precisely within designated waters, China’s state news agency Xinhua said. The People’s Liberation Army Navy called the launch a routine part of its annual training schedule, saying it complied with international law and was not directed at any specific country or target. Beijing said it had notified relevant nations in advance.
It was China’s first such test since September 2024, when it fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the open Pacific for the first time in more than four decades.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said China had fired the missile into the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, established under the 1986 Treaty of Rarotonga, and called the test “an unwelcome and concerning development.” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, speaking in Fiji where Canberra signed a new defense pact with Suva, described the launch as “destabilising” and said it lacked transparency about Beijing’s intent.
Japan said it had been notified by Chinese authorities that debris could fall within its exclusive economic zone, though the missile ultimately landed outside it. Tokyo said it had urged China to reconsider the test, citing concerns for its security.
China maintains a fleet of six ballistic-missile submarines and 59 nuclear-powered attack submarines, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Washington-based think tank.
