China conducts rare long-range missile test, rattling U.S. allies

The Chinese military test-fired a missile from a nuclear submarine into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, state media reported, drawing criticism from U.S. allies in the region concerned about Beijing’s intensifying military activity.

HONG KONG — China test-fired a long-range ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, state media reported, drawing criticism from U.S. allies concerned about Beijing’s intensifying military activity in the region.

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The missile, which was carrying a dummy warhead, was launched from a nuclear-powered submarine at 12:01 p.m. local time (12:01 a.m. ET), according to Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. It “landed precisely within the designated waters,” the agency said, without providing details on the location or exact type of projectile.

It was China’s first such test since 2024, when it fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific for the first time in more than four decades.