China test-fires ICBM into the Pacific Ocean for the first time in decades
China said Wednesday that it had successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean, in a rare public test that may raise international concerns as the country builds up its nuclear arsenal at a time of tensions with the United States.
China said Wednesday that it had successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean, in a rare public test that may raise international concerns as the country builds up its nuclear arsenal at a time of tensions with the United States.
The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force launched the ICBM carrying a simulated warhead at 8:44 a.m. local time (8:44 p.m. Tuesday ET), the Chinese defense ministry said in a statement, adding that it accurately landed in a predetermined area of the high seas. The path of the missile and the exact place it fell were unclear.
The ministry said the test was a routine part of the Rocket Force’s annual military training. “It is in line with international law and international practice and is not directed against any country or target,” it said.
But analysts said this was the first time China had launched an ICBM into international waters since 1980.
“Unless I’m missing something, I think this is essentially the first time this has happened (and been announced as such) in a long time,” Ankit Panda, a nuclear weapons expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said in a post on X.
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