China test-launches long-range ballistic missile from submarine in South Pacific

The Chinese military test-launched a long-range ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine in the South Pacific on Monday, prompting protests and concerns from countries across the region.

The missile, carrying a dummy warhead, was fired just past noon, according to the Xinhua news agency.

This marks China’s first such missile test in the Pacific in two years.

In a statement reposted by the defence ministry, Beijing maintained the launch was part of routine annual training, complied with international law, and was not aimed at any specific nation or target.

Australia and New Zealand, however, swiftly condemned the test. New Zealand’s government, which was informed of the planned launch beforehand, highlighted that the missile landed within the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone. The zone was established by the 1986 Treaty of Rarotonga, which prohibits nuclear weapons throughout the region. China, in 1987, ratified the protocols pledging not to test nuclear weapons within the zone, or to threaten to use them against signatories of the treaty with territory in the region.

"It appears that despite our long-standing concerns about this type of activity, China carried out the test within hours of informing us,” New Zealand’s foreign minister, Winston Peters, said.

The test-launch coincided with the signing of a mutual defence treaty between Australia and Fiji, an agreement widely seen as an effort to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific.

Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong, speaking to reporters in Fiji, reiterated her nation’s stance. "Australia has been clear with China that we regard this as destabilising to the region," she said.